AKUH confirms 6 cases of Omicron sub-variant XBB in Karachi.

KARACHI -- The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) confirmed on Wednesday the detection of six coronavirus cases belonging to the highly-contagious Omicron subvariant category XBB in Karachi.

'We have detected six cases, however, others have been found around the country,' AKUH Infectious Diseases Section Head Dr Faisal Mehmood told media. 'These have started since November.'

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the XBB is a highly contagious subvariant of Covid-19's Omicron strain. As per early evidence, the XBB variant had a higher reinfection risk, as compared to other circulating Omicron sublineages.

A statement by the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) on Dec 31, around 40pc of confirmed US Covid-19 cases were caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, a relative strain of the XBB variant.

Dr Mehmood said the XBB variant can spread rapidly, especially in people who do not have pre-existing immunity from vaccination or previous infections.

'The symptoms are similar to the other Covid variants,' he added, encouraging vaccinations for people who have not received the booster shot or have low immunity.

The infectious diseases expert said adequate amounts of testing were the most important thing to counter the new variant's spread.

He advised the public to get a booster shot if they haven't already.

'If you have any symptoms...

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