Unlike China, the new sub-strain of coronavirus has not had a catastrophic impact in India, even though the first case of this variant was detected a few months ago.
Posted Date – 10:33 AM, Sun – 12/25/22

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New Delhi: The current Covid surge in many countries, including China, is thought to be driven by the Omicron subvariant BF.7. India has so far reported four more cases of the variant, two from Gujarat and two from Odisha.
Unlike China, the new sub-strain of coronavirus has not had a catastrophic impact in India, even though the first case of this variant was detected a few months ago. However, the Center has directed all states and the Federal Territory to exercise caution and step up genome sequencing to track down the variant.
BF.7 is a descendant of Omicron variant BA.5, which Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chair of the National IMA Covid Task Force, calls “Omicron’s great-grandson”.
“BF.7 is a great-grandson of Omicron that has a greater ability than the original Omicron to infect people who have been previously infected or vaccinated. This property is called immune evasion. It is essentially the same virus as Omicron, but with additional mutation … there is no indication that it causes more severe disease,” he said.
Dr. Jayadevan said that since Omicron was discovered in South Africa in November 2021, it had global coverage in just one and a half months. India first saw the BA.1 version, then BA.2, and set off a third wave in January-February 2022. “Since then, BA.2’s sons, daughters and grandchildren have been passed around in India, but without any big waves.”
Dr. Jayadevan believes that among those who have survived Covid-19 infection, high vaccination rates and high naturally acquired immunity, when Western countries suffered under the subsequent BA.5 version of Omicron, BA in most parts of India did not A corresponding increase of .5 related cases.
“When BF.7 was first reported a few months ago, scientists were initially excited about it, as it appeared in several countries at the same time. It was found especially in Belgium, as well as in Denmark, Germany and France. Naturally, it was initially Fear that it would overtake its siblings. That didn’t happen. For example, in the US, the BF.7 currently accounts for only 3.9% of the variants in circulation. This may be because it was surpassed by newer and more powerful Omicron versions such as the BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and XBB,” he argued.
There is currently no indication that the BF.7 or its progenitor BA.5 made any impact in India. It has also been reported in northern China. Dr. Jayadevan suggested that ongoing genomic surveillance is needed globally, firstly because of the rapidly changing nature of the virus, and secondly because some people with compromised immune systems may harbor the virus for long periods of time. Covid panic.
“Covid-19 is constantly mutating, and the virus’s RNA strand replicates and makes mistakes causing mutations, which can introduce important changes that help the virus adapt or survive better, and increase the virus’ ability to spread faster,” said public health expert and Fortis Dr. Kaushal Kant Mishra, Director, Bone and Joint Institute, Escort Hospital.
Studies worldwide have confirmed that, as a subvariant of Omicron, it is highly contagious and spreads faster than other variants, he said. “We observed increasing trends in joint pain, upper body pain, URI, and vertigo,” he said, adding that “so far no studies have linked these symptoms to the new variant, so we cannot say that these are symptoms”.
However, the most common symptoms include congestion, sore throat, cough, fatigue and runny nose.