43 more XFG cases takes total tally in state to 49
While the number of samples being sequenced is still not high enough, doctors said this strain could be causing the current spike in the state as well as in other parts of the country.
Health officials said that XFG belongs to the Omicron family of Covid-19, and despite its high transmissibility, this variant is known to cause only mild infection in most cases. "With XFG isolated in most positive samples, this variant is emerging as the dominant variant in circulation during this spike.
But there is nothing to worry about as this variant is causing only mild infection," said a health official.
By Tuesday, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) detected 206 XFG variant cases across the country. In Maharashtra, 89 cases of this new variant were found, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala followed with 16 and 15 cases, respectively.
Yogiraj Ray, head of the infectious diseases department at IPGMER, said,"While this variant can emerge as the dominant variant in circulation, there is nothing to worry about as it is an offshoot of Omicron.
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In fact, two post-transplant patients – kidney and liver – who tested positive for Covid-19 did not get severe infection."
"Covid-19 is endemic and will stay in the community now. XFG is known to be immune evasive. A variant with high transmissibility and low mortality is likely to spike rapidly but subside fast. Since the current spike is causing mostly mild infection, we should not worry. But genomic sequencing should be carried out on a regular basis so that any aberrant mutation can be detected on time for better preparedness and also to mitigate unnecessary panic," said Sumon Poddar, associate professor of paediatrics at the Institute of Child Health Kolkata, who is also attached to the microbiology lab of the institute.
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