Bhubaneswar: Omicron sub-variant XBB, which has led to a surge in COVID cases in parts of South Asia, especially Singapore and Hong Kong, and its strains, especially XBB, are fast emerging as a dominant sub-variant in India. Nine states, including Odisha, have so far reported XBB.
According to data from GISAID, an international research organisation that tracks changes in the virus, India saw 380 confirmed cases of XBB till October 23. Tamil Nadu topped the list with 175 cases followed by West Bengal at 103. Odisha is third with 35, while Maharashtra reported 21 cases, Delhi (18), Puducherry (16), Karnataka (9), Gujarat (2) and Rajasthan (1).
West Bengal was the first state where this most evasive Omicron sub-variant was detected in August. The XBB variant is claimed to be more infectious.
Notably, Odisha has been reporting a drop in new cases for the last three consecutive days and now has 225 active cases.
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