The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has warned that genome sequencing has found the most infectious XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant in Pakistan.
It attributed the country’s low COVID-19 cases to “quite good immunity” and low testing.
An AKU expert told The News Monday that genome sequencing from an infected patient revealed the XBB.1.5 sub-variant of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus).
The specialist, who requested anonymity, said inadequate testing was likely the reason the country had few COVID-19 instances and that most patients infected with the new Coronavirus sub-variant were not getting tested despite having upper respiratory tract infections.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad said Monday that COVID-19 positivity remained at 0.36% after 3,085 tests, with only 11 persons testing positive and 14 in critical condition nationwide.
Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar, a leading infectious diseases expert, stated XBB.1.5 is the most immunity-evading subvariant of the Omicron variant and infects millions of people worldwide, including Pakistan.
Most people with upper respiratory tract infections don’t get tested because it doesn’t cause serious diseases. Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar remarked, “Most people getting tested daily are healthier travelers. Thus we are not obtaining the actual situation of COVID-19 in the country.”
He claimed that Pakistan was sequencing only 0.5% of COVID-19-positive cases, which was low and non-systematic.
Several pulmonologists (chest specialists) and general practitioners told the publication that hundreds of Karachi residents with upper respiratory tract infections were being reported daily. Despite having high-grade fever and flu-like symptoms, these patients were not willing to get tested for COVID-19, so they were given symptomatic treatment.
GPs and pulmonologists report many upper respiratory tract illnesses.
“COVID-19 and H1N1 are spreading fast nationwide. “But as individuals are not ready to get tested for COVID-19, they are being provided symptomatic treatment as the majority of such patients don’t require hospitalization,” a prominent pulmonologist at a leading tertiary-care health institution in Karachi stated.
Although the most virulent sub-variant of coronavirus is circulating in Pakistan, Dr. Faisal Mehmood, a renowned infectious diseases expert, feels that higher immunity owing to past infections and immunization was the key reason for the lower spread.
“Due to immunizations and illnesses, Pakistanis are immune. Dr. Mehmood, an infectious diseases consultant at AKUH, told The News that over 95% of Pakistanis are completely vaccinated, and millions have booster doses.
He noted that testing was poor. Therefore, COVID-19 cases were not being found, but higher immunity protected individuals who contracted it.
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