Four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, driving China's Covid surge, detected in India

At least four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China's current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in India so far, official sources said Wednesday. The first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre. So far, two cases have been reported from Gujarat while one case has been reported from Odisha, they said.

However, according to Gujarat health department, two patients infected with BF.7 & BF 12 variants of Omicron were reported in July-October-November-2022. These patients were treated in home isolation & have fully recovered.

In the Covid review meeting chaired by



Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Wednesday, experts said although there is no overall increase in Covid caseload as of now, there is a need for continued surveillance to keep a track of existing and emerging variants.

According to official sources here, Chinese cities are currently hit by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, mostly BF.7 which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and is contributing to a wider surge of Covid infections in that country.

"The BF.7's high transmissibility in China might be attributed to a low level of immunity in the Chinese population from the previous infection and possibly vaccination too," an official source said.