Virologist warns new Omicron subvariant is more infectious
The new Omicron subvariant of Covid-19, XBB.1.16, is more infectious than its predecessors, an infectious disease expert warned on Saturday, urging Thais to keep their guard up because “not getting infected is the best approach”.
“XBB.1.16 has 1.22-1.46 times higher effective reproductive number than the XBB.1 subvariant, and 1.13-1.31 times higher than the XBB.1.5, which is the current dominant subvariant in most of the world, including Thailand,” Dr Thira Woratanarat, chief of Chulalongkorn University’s Information Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, wrote on Facebook.
He cited research by scientists from Japan’s Sato Lab that was published in the latest edition of The Lancet.
The study also found that like its predecessors, XBB.1.16 is defiant to immunity created by past infections. The new subvariant also resists antibody and long acting antibody drugs used to treat Covid-19 patients, Thira added.
“Due to these qualities, Thailand will soon see more new infections from the XBB.1.16. This is why we must never drop our guard. Not being infected or reinfected is the best approach against Covid-19,” he said.
He also urged people to continue wearing masks in the correct way, especially when they are in crowded public places.
The government’s Covid-19 information centre reported on Monday that a total of 1,811 new patients were hospitalised with the virus during the week of April 23-29, an average of 258 patients per day.
Ten patients died in the last week, it said.
Since January this year, 8,382 Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised in Thailand and 288 of them have died, the centre said.
