The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has issued a warning after discovering the most infectious XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant in the country via genome sequencing.
The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has issued a warning after discovering the most infectious XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant in the country via genome sequencing.
It attributed the detection of a very small number of COVID-19 cases in the country to “very good immunity” among the general population as well as extremely low testing in the country.
“Yes, we discovered the infectious XBB.1.5 subvariant of the Omicron variant of SARS- COVID (coronavirus) through genome sequencing of the virus from an infected patient,” an AKU expert said on Monday.
The expert, who requested anonymity, speculated that a very small number of COVID-19 cases were being reported from the country due to low testing and that most people infected with the new sub-variant of Coronavirus were not getting tested despite having upper respiratory tract infections.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad reported on Monday that COVID-19 positivity remained at 0.36%, with only 11 people testing positive after 3,085 tests, and that only 14 people were in critical condition across the country.
XBB.1.5 is the most immunity-evading subvariant of the Omicron variant to date, according to renowned infectious diseases expert Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar, who commented on the presence of the COVID-19 subvariant in Pakistan, and it is infecting millions of people throughout the world, including Pakistan.
“Fortunately, it is not causing a severe disease so most of the people who are contracting upper respiratory tract infections are not getting themselves tested. “The majority of people who are tested on a daily basis are actually travellers, who are a healthier segment of society, so we are not getting the true picture of COVID-19 in the country,” Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar added.
According to him, genome sequencing of COVID-19 positive cases in Pakistan was very low in comparison to the rest of the world, with only 0.5% of cases being carried out, which was very low and non-systematic.
Several pulmonologists (chest specialists) and general practitioners confirmed to the publication that hundreds of people with upper respiratory tract infections were being reported from Karachi, saying despite having high-grade fever with flu-like conditions, these patients were not willing to get themselves tested for COVID-19 so they were being advised symptomatic treatment. Upper respiratory tract infections are common among pulmonologists and general practitioners.
“COVID-19 and H1N1 are both rapidly spreading across the country. However, because patients are unwilling to be tested for COVID-19, they are being treated symptomatically, as the majority of such patients do not require hospitalisation, according to a senior pulmonologist affiliated with a leading tertiary-care health facility in Karachi.
Despite the fact that the most infectious sub-variant is still circulating in the country, renowned infectious diseases expert Dr. Faisal Mehmood believes that better immunity among the Pakistani population as a result of previous infections and vaccination was the main factor in the coronavirus’s less widespread spread.
“Because of previous infections and vaccinations, the Pakistani population has a high level of immunity.” Pakistan is one of the countries where over 95% of people are fully vaccinated, while millions of people also have booster doses, “Dr. Mehmood, who is an infectious diseases consultant at the AKUH, said.
According to him, because testing was so low, COVID-19 cases were not detected, but those who did contract COVID-19 did not suffer from severe disease due to their stronger immunity.