AUTHOR=Samal Jasmine , Bhugra Arjun , Suroliya Varun , Gautam Pramod , Agarwal Reshu , Bihari Chhagan , Gupta Ekta TITLE=The emergence of the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant in India: a brief report on clinical presentation of a few cases JOURNAL=Frontiers in Virology VOLUME=3 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virology/articles/10.3389/fviro.2023.1158703 DOI=10.3389/fviro.2023.1158703 ISSN=2673-818X ABSTRACT=

Despite the three years spent navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are still having to react to the disease due to the constant evolution of novel variants/subvariants. Over the last few months, a global plummet in COVID-19 cases has suggested we are transitioning towards endemic COVID-19. However, the new omicron offshoots (XBB variants) are driving a new surge of cases around the world. A few preliminary research findings suggest that the XBB.1.5 subvariant is more immune-evasive and displays higher binding to ACE2 human receptor than its other related omicron subvariants in circulation. In this first-of-its-kind report, we discuss a few XBB.1.5 cases and its clinical characteristics reported in Delhi State, North India.