HCM City detects patient with XBB.1.5 sub-variant of Covid-19

- Conducting genetic sequencing of patients infected with Covid-19 recently, the health sector of Ho Chi Minh City has discovered that the specimen is a sub-variant XBB.1.5.

On April 14, the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City said that from the beginning of March 2023 until now, the province has recorded the number of new cases of Covid-19 under 3 cases / day (average 1 case / day).

In the latest week (April 6-12), there were 6 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, only two days, April 12 and April 13, 3 and 7 new cases were recorded, respectively. Currently, there are 12 patients being treated at the hospital, no serious cases requiring mechanical ventilation.

According to a report by the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), in collaboration with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, the sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 patients was carried out between January 11 and March 20. , 5 samples were successfully decoded. Of these, there are 2 samples belonging to the sub-variant BA.5, variant BA.2.75 and XBB.1 with one sample for each strain. Notably, there is a model that is a sub-variant XBB.1.5 that first appeared in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), XBB.1.5 is currently the dominant variant globally (accounting for more than 47% of cases in March), having been detected in 94 countries.

WHO classifies XBB.1.5 as a variant of concern, continues to monitor it closely. At the same time, there are 7 other variants of the group being monitored, including BA.2.75, CH.1.1, BQ.1, XBF, XBB, XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.9.1. Thus, at present, there has not been a variant belonging to the group of worrisome variants or variants with serious consequences.

Within 4 weeks (from March 6 to April 2), the world recorded nearly 3.3 million new cases and more than 23,000 deaths from Covid-19, down 28% and 30% respectively compared to 1. previous month. The number of new cases reported in the past 28 days has decreased in many places, but increased in the East Mediterranean regions (up 147%) and Southeast Asia (up 289%).

On April 12, 2023, the Ministry of Health warned of the possibility of a possible outbreak of epidemics, because other infectious diseases such as dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease, influenza ... all have the risk of increasing the number of cases. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health also directed the City Center for Disease Control and all public and non-public medical facilities to urgently implement measures to strengthen the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Health Department of Ho Chi Minh City calls on people to take the same responsibility to protect the health of themselves, their families and the community. It is necessary to ensure the maintenance of herd immunity to Covid-19, by giving family members and children (ages 5 and older). In particular, the group with high risk factors should be vaccinated against Covid-19 if they have not been vaccinated, repeated injections or additional injections according to regulations.

* SOURCE: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/tphcm-phat-hien-benh-nhan-mac-bien-the-phu-xbb15-cua-covid-19-20230414085309953.htm