{"id":12339,"date":"2022-12-23T15:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T09:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wockhardthospitals.com\/?p=9404"},"modified":"2022-12-23T15:03:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T09:33:00","slug":"as-india-records-cases-of-omicron-bf-7-variant-thats-driving-the-surge-in-china-should-you-be-worried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wockhardthospitals.com\/international-patients\/press-release\/as-india-records-cases-of-omicron-bf-7-variant-thats-driving-the-surge-in-china-should-you-be-worried\/","title":{"rendered":"India Records Cases of Omicron BF.7 Variant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a statement, the Ministry of Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that &#8220;the public health challenge of Covid-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>India has been reporting a \u201csteady decline\u201d in Covid-19 cases, with the average number around 129 with a daily positivity rate at 0.01 percent, as of December 22, according to MyGov.in. Globally, however, there has been a \u201csudden spurt in cases\u201d driven by \u201ca new and highly transmissible BF.7 strain of the Omicron variant\u201d being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, and China\u201d, according to&nbsp;<em>PTI<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement, the Ministry of Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that \u201cthe public health challenge of Covid-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further, it has also come to light that three cases of&nbsp;Omicron&nbsp;subvariant&nbsp;BF.7, have been detected in India so far, according to a&nbsp;<em>PTI<\/em>&nbsp;report. Various states have stepped up vigil as a Covid review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya stated that although there is no overall increase in Covid caseload as of now, there is a need for continued surveillance to keep a track of existing and&nbsp;emerging variants. \u201cCOVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation,\u201d Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya noted in a tweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prime Minister&nbsp;Narendra Modi&nbsp;is also expected to review the situation at a high-level meeting today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said that \u201cWHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China\u201d. However, he went on to inform that \u201csince the peak at the end of January 2022, the number of weekly reported&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;deaths has dropped almost 90 percent\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, there are various reports also suggesting that the XBB variant, which is a recombinant \u2014 a combination of two lineages (BJ.1 and BA.2.75) and \u201chighly infectious\u201d, could make India worried. As such, we reached out to experts to understand more about the&nbsp;new variant&nbsp;and XBB in light of the reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Negating worries in the Indian context, Dr. Ravi Shekhar Jha, said that even as reports coming from other countries suggest that the newer&nbsp;omicron strain&nbsp;is more dangerous, \u201cIndia is probably in a much better position since the majority of us are vaccinated and many got naturally infected with Omicron variant only\u201d. \u201cSo, at present, it seems unlikely that the newer variant will create fatal infections in India,\u201d Dr. Jha told&nbsp;<em>indianexpress.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Dr. Jha was quick to add that since currently there is no data to validate this, one must keep a close eye on any symptoms so that it does not lead to admissions. Dr. Subhendu Mohanty said, \u201cThe data about the new variant is not known. However, it is unlikely to be a concern in India. The reason is that most of our population has got two doses of vaccine and at least one or two clinical or sub-clinical covid infections. There is a very good possibility that it will pass off just like Omicron infection with flu-like symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Do Variants Occur?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To be specific about the BF.7 variant, in due course of time the viruses mutate as they survive in nature, thus, creating their lineages (as a family tree with the SARS COV 2 diagnosed in December 2019 as the trunk of the tree and the variants as branches and sub-branches ). \u201cThe BF. 7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron sub-lineage BA.5,\u201d elucidated Dr. Abhijit Patil.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the Symptoms Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The mode of transmission, signs, and symptoms are going to be overlapping with that of the previous Covid variants. Dr. Patil pointed out that a recent study published in&nbsp;<em>Cell Host and Microbe<\/em>&nbsp;journal noted that current variants \u201care more resistant to neutralization by the antibodies in the humans than the original virus and thus spreading rapidly\u201d. \u201cTalking specifically about China, which is very stringent about its \u2018Zero Covid\u2019 policy, this has probably back-fired as most of the population affected by the new variant are those not immune (not having sufficient antibody titers in the blood),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To recall, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was reported to the WHO from South Africa on November 25, 2021. On November 26, 2021, the WHO named this variant B.1.1.529 as Omicron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As any of the mutants surface in the human population, it is going to cause symptoms till we acquire immunity through infection or vaccination, experts suggest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Patil mentioned, \u201cWith the life normalizing and the loosening of the Covid restrictions, any such new variant is bound to cause at least a transient surge in the affected population. It is only that we should not be caught off-guard and, hence, the authorities will definitely take transient steps to increase the number of testing and genome sequencing to diagnose any surge in cases and hospitalization with new variants. However, in my opinion, such spikes will be seen also in the future and shall wean off in short durations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Ravindra Mehta affirmed that only in \u201cinfection-na\u00efve or vaccination-na\u00efve areas\u201d, were the cases may be significant. \u201cBut in vaccination-replete areas and where natural immunity has developed, the new variant may not have bad consequences. Our feeling is that probably the elderly and the immune-compromised, as well as the unvaccinated or poorly vaccinated, or vaccination failures might be at higher risk. So, the majority population is not at risk,\u201d Dr. Mehta told&nbsp;<em>indianexpress.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agreeing that it is \u201cpremature\u201d to speak about the XBB variant that has been a concern in India since August 2022, and was then detected in more than 17 countries since then, including Bangladesh, Denmark, Japan, and the US, according to Singapore\u2019s Ministry of Health, Dr. Jha said, \u201cThe recombinant variant won\u2019t do much harm here\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo far, it does not look like it but we have to continue our vigilance with all these variants. Fortunately, India has also geared up towards genome surveillance that would help identify such new variants,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;XBB variant&nbsp;does not seem to demonstrate increased severity, although, it has the potential to spread quite rapidly, experts noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Can you Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Health Ministry has requested people to start masking up and follow covid-appropriate behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Jinendra Jain, consultant physician, at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road cautioned against taking the symptoms lightly. \u201cSymptoms such as shortness of breath, confusion, fatigue, muscle pain, body ache, sore throat, congestion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, should not be taken lightly. Report the&nbsp;symptoms&nbsp;to your treating doctor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts urge keeping up with vaccinations, using masks indoors and outdoors, avoiding large festive gatherings, testing yourself, and isolating yourself while you\u2019re sick to stay safe and keep your friends and family safe from Covid-19. \u201cRemember that the Covid curve has still not flattened in the country. The pandemic is still a matter of concern and one needs to be cautious. It is the need of the hour for everyone to get vaccinated and get a booster shot too. Vaccination can reduce the rate of hospitalization and mortality too,\u201d said Dr. Aniket Mule, consultant internal medicine, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wockhardthospitals.com\/doctor\/dr-jinendra-k-jain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Jinendra Jain<\/a><br>Consultant Physician<br>Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To book an appointment call: <a href=\"tel:+918108101104\">+918108101104<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/lifestyle\/health\/covid-omicron-bf-7-china-cases-xbb-variants-cases-reports-india-experts-symptoms-vaccination-china-cases-8338117\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a statement, the Ministry of Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that &#8220;the public health challenge of Covid-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly&#8221;. India has been reporting a \u201csteady decline\u201d in Covid-19 cases, with the average number around 129 with a daily positivity rate at 0.01 percent, as <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>India Records Cases of Omicron BF.7 Variant | Wockhardt Hospitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ministry of Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that \u201cthe public health challenge of Covid-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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