COVID-19: India witnesses suspected cases of BF.7 variant, responsible for case rise in China
In the COVID review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday that while there has been no overall increase in COVID-19 caseload, there is a need for continued surveillance to keep track of existing and emerging variants.
According to reports, Chinese cities are currently being hit by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, primarily BF.7, which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and contributing to a larger surge of Covid infections in that country.
According to the reports, three cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, which appears to be the strain driving China’s current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in India so far. Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre discovered the first case of BF.7 in India in October. So far, two cases have been reported in Gujarat, with one case reported in Odisha.
“BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 and has the strongest infection ability since it is highly transmissible, has a shorter incubation period, and has a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated.”