The first case of Omicron subvariant BF.7, the highly infectious strain that has reportedly triggered havoc and massive upsurge of Covid cases in Odisha, have been detected in the coastal State, the health and family welfare said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Omicron BF.7 Covid sub-variant was detected in Odisha, in a single sample tested on 30 September 2022. The RT-PCR testing of this was done on demand, for a female of Khordha district. The Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) did the genome sequencing for this sample. At the time of testing, it was neither a VOC (Variant of Concern) nor VOI (Variant of Interest). In the 3 months since, no other sample of BF.7 has been detected in Odisha”, the statement added.
The lady tested was asymptomatic at time of test. She got tested for her travel to USA. She and her family are in the USA since October. None of them have any flu like symptoms since their departure from India, it concluded.