KARACHI: The Aga Khan University (AKUH) has sounded the alarm that the most infectious sub-variant of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the country ‘XBB.1.5’ has been detected through genome sequencing but is ‘very good’ in the general population. Immunity’ is referred to. Along with this, very little testing in the country is behind the very low number of Covid-19 cases detected in the country.
“Yes, we found the XBB.1.5 subtype of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) from an infected patient through genome sequencing of the virus,” an expert associated with AKU told The News. The expert, who requested anonymity, said the low testing is likely due to the country reporting very few cases of CoVID-19 and opined that new subtypes of the coronavirus are emerging. Most people affected by type were not being themselves. The test was performed despite having an upper respiratory tract infection.
The National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, said on Monday that the positivity rate for Covid-19 stood at 0.36 per cent after 3,085 tests were conducted with only 11 people testing positive, adding that only 14 people across the country are in critical condition. .
Commenting on the presence and implications of the XBB.1.5 subtype in Pakistan, renowned infectious disease expert Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar said that the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant is the most immunogenic so far and it is affecting millions of people worldwide, including in Pakistan. “Fortunately, it doesn’t cause a serious illness so most people with upper respiratory tract infections don’t get tested. Most people who get tested on a daily basis Yes, they are actually travelers, who are a healthy section of the society, so we are not getting the actual situation of Covid-19 in the country,” added Rana Jawad Asghar.
According to him, the genome sequencing of the positive cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan was very low compared to the rest of the world, he claimed that only 0.5% of the cases were being genome sequenced, which was very low and non-existent. Several organized pulmonologists (chest specialists) and general practitioners confirmed to The News that hundreds of people from Karachi are suffering from upper respiratory tract infections every day, which they say are high-grade with flu-like conditions. Despite having fever, these patients were not ready to take themselves. Tested for COVID-19, they were being advised symptomatic treatment.
Pulmonologists and general practitioners report a large number of patients with upper respiratory tract infections. Both Covid-19 and H1N1 are spreading rapidly across the country. But since patients are not ready to get tested for CoVID-19, they are being given symptomatic treatment as majority of such patients do not require hospitalisation,” said a senior pulmonologist at a tertiary care health facility in Karachi. told.
Renowned infectious disease expert Dr. Faisal Mehmood believes that improved immunity in the Pakistani population due to previous infections and vaccinations was the main factor behind the low prevalence of Covid, although the most infectious subtype is circulating in the country “among the Pakistani population.” “Very high. Immunity level due to previous infections and vaccinations. Pakistan is among the countries where more than 95% of people are fully vaccinated while millions of people are given booster doses,” said Dr. Mahmood Jo. Consultant in Infectious Diseases at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). ) told The News.
According to him, testing was too low which led to undetected cases of Covid-19 but emphasized that those infected with Covid are not developing severe disease even due to immunity.