Omicron variants XBB, BQ.1 causing 20-30% of Covid-19 infections in India, say doctors

• India has reported over 233 cases of the XBB Covid variant, with the maximum cases in Maharashtra.
  
• According to the WHO, XBB has a global prevalence of 1.3% and it has been detected in 35 countries.
  
• The XBB is known to be immune evasive, say doctors.
  
• The patients detected with these new variants are found to suffer from mild symptoms.

The number of Covid-19 cases may be going down in the country, but the emergence of two new Omicron variants — XBB and BQ.1 — are becoming a cause for concern. India has reported over 233 cases of XBB variant, with the maximum cases seen in Maharashtra.

These two variants are causing 20-30% of the infections in the country, Dr Laxman Jessani, consultant, infectious disease, Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai told Business Insider India.

India recorded 1,326 new Covid-19 cases and eight deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data by the Ministry of Health.

These new variants hold the potential to trigger a new wave in many countries, say experts.

“XBB is very immune-evasive, which means it can overcome the antibodies. So, we may see another wave of infections in some countries because of XBB,” Dr Jessani said.

Severity of XBB and BQ.1 variant

XBB is a recombinant of BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 sub-lineages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this variant has a global prevalence of 1.3% and it has been detected in 35 countries.

BQ.1 is a sub-lineage of BA.5 and has a global prevalence of 6%, being detected in 65 countries. WHO feels that the overall phenotype of XBB and BQ.1 are not very different from other Omicron sub-lineages with additional immune escape mutations. However, it did add that the situation will be reassessed regularly.

The cases of these new variants found in the country are mild and less severe, an expert from Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said on Monday.

“There has been no report of increase in severity of disease or increase in hospitalisation associated with these variants. Among the Indian patients, the disease is mild like with other Omicron sub-lineages, and no increase in severity is noted,” said INSACOG, a forum set up by the Indian government to study the virus variations of Covid.

Chances of re-infection are higher

Early data however suggests that people affected with these variants are actually cases of re-infection.

“Reports have shown that these sub-variants are causing more re-infection rather than a high severity,” Dr Aditya S Chowti, senior consultant - internal medicine, Fortis Hospital, Bangalore, told Business Insider India.

The upcoming winter season can also lead to an increase in the number of infections. It is yet to be seen whether it would be large enough to drive a wave in the country, said experts.

The new sub-variants also have similar symptoms as seen in the Omicron variant. “Time will tell us how these two particular sub-variants will show their properties. We are not seeing any new symptoms as compared to the older infections,” Dr Chowti added.

The available vaccines in the market for Covid-19 are found to be ‘partially effective’, Dr Jessani said. “It’s important to know that vaccines protect against the worst cases of Covid-19 and the latest booster is expected to be effective against these variants. Unvaccinated people as well as those who are elderly or immunocompromised remained at highest risk,” Dr Jessani added.

India’s vaccine coverage has exceeded 219 crore doses, as per data available on November 1.

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