THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said 10 cases of the EG.5 sublineage of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been detected in their latest genome sequencing.
EG.5 is an XBB.1.9.2 sublineage that was recently added by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its list of variants under monitoring due to its increasing global prevalence. It has been detected in 44 countries or jurisdictions across six continents.
Aside from the EG.5, the COVID-19 Biosurveillance Report showed that the Omicron XBB and its sublineages continue to dominate the genome sequencing results for July 14 to 25, with 146 out of the 160 samples sequenced being classified as XBB.
“From June 2023 onwards, XBB and its sublineages were the most detected variant,” said the DOH.
Among those tagged as XBB sublineages are 11 XBB.1.5 cases, 42 XBB.1.16 cases, 33 XBB.1.9.1 cases, 4 XBB.1.9.2 cases, and 45 XBB.2.3 cases.
All detected XBB subvariants were local cases from Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Caraga, Cordillera Administrative Region, and National Capital Region.
