COVID: India's active caseload stands at 7,605
With 1,300 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, India's active COVID caseload stands at 7,605 today.
Amid health advisories and guidelines released by the government, Former Chief of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dr Randeep Guleria spoke to news agency PTI on the nature of the new variant, why testing is essential and whether this new variant can drive a fresh wave of COVID cases.
The XBB 1.16 is sort of a "new kid on the block"
"The XBB 1.16 is sort of a "new kid on the block," the pulmonologist told the media and explained that, "So the virus kept on changing. Luckily, if we look at what has happened in the last one year, we have got variants which are basically sub-lineages of Omicron only. So it seems the virus has stabilised a little bit. It is not changing as rapidly as it was in the past."
It will gradually evolve, mutate a little bit and new variants will emerge, he added.
COVID testing is essential
Dr Guleria said that testing is essential as it will help update the official record. According to him, while there might be a surge in COVID cases, it may actually be underreported.
"Now even if they have flu-like symptoms, most people don't get themselves tested. Some use the rapid antigen test, and even if they are positive they do not report it. So, the number we are actually reporting may be less than the actual number in the community," he said.
Dr Guleria's interview comes after PM Modi's meeting on Wednesday to review the COVID situation in the country
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting to assess the Covid-19 & Influenza situation in the country in terms of preparedness of health infrastructure & logistics, status of the vaccination campaign, emergence of new Covid-19 variants & Influenza types and their public health implications for the country," an official statement said.
"PM emphasises the need to enhance lab surveillance & testing of all Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases & ramp up genome sequencing and advises following respiratory hygiene & adherence to Covid appropriate behavior," it added.
"This is known as an antigenic drift"
On the changing nature of the virus, the ex-AIIMS Chief says the virus changes over time and this happens with both the COVID and the influenza causing viruses.
"This is known as an antigenic drift," said Dr Randeep Guleria. "If we remember when we had the Covid outbreak, it started off with Alpha, Beta, Gamma Delta and Omicron variants,” he added.
Antigenic drift is one of the several ways viruses change. It consists of mutations in the genes that lead to changes in the surface proteins, HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase) in case of flu viruses.
This enables the virus' ability to spread among individuals.
“There is no need to panic”
The former AIIMS Chief, who was also a part of the national COVID task force, said that, ""So even if we see a surge, there is no need to worry, as long it does not translate into hospitalization and deaths it is alright."
Currently the Omicron variant of the COVID is circulating globally. The new variants that are emerging belong to the Omicron variant only. So far, the COVID wave caused by the Delta variant is considered to be the most devastating one. The B.1.617.2 was first detected in India in October 2020.
How to know if it's COVID XBB 1.16 infection or H3N2 infection?
Start a Conversation
Post comment