Subscribe
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
After recording 16 COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the past three weeks, the Andhra Pradesh Health Department has found that the patients were infected with the Omicron RF.5 variant, a sublineage of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
However, there is no reason to panic, and taking precautions will suffice, Director of Medical Education Dr A Vishnuvardhan said in a statement issued on Saturday, July 18.
Four samples from COVID-19 patients in Kadapa district were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for genomic sequencing. The results showed that the virus was the Omicron RF.5 variant, one of several Omicron sublineages identified globally.
The statement said that the World Health Organization is monitoring the variant as part of routine genomic surveillance. According to Dr Vishnuvardhan, a higher number of RF.5 cases have been reported in Singapore and some other Southeast Asian countries.
He advised people not to panic, stating that, based on the scientific evidence currently available, there is no indication that RF.5 is more dangerous than other Omicron variants.
The Omicron variant has generally been associated with less severe illness than earlier coronavirus variants and usually causes flu-like symptoms. However, hospitalisations and deaths have also been reported among infected persons.
In Andhra Pradesh, 16 COVID-19 cases have been recorded this year, with the first case detected in Kadapa district on June 26. Four patients have died so far, all of whom had comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, kidney ailments and other serious illnesses. Three were from Kadapa district and one was from Kakinada.
Dr Vishnuvardhan said the symptoms associated with the Omicron RF.5 variant include sore throat, cough, fever, headache, a runny or stuffy nose, fatigue and body aches.
Between July 1 and 16, a total of 339 COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide, according to the Andhra Pradesh Health Department. These included 115 cases in Kerala, 64 in Karnataka, 43 in Maharashtra, 39 in Tamil Nadu, 18 in Andaman, 18 in Delhi, 12 in Rajasthan and a few others in various states.
