THE XBB subvariant of the Omicron variant continues to dominate in the Philippines, based on the latest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) samples sequenced by the Department of Health (DOH).
Based on the biosurveillance report of the DOH, 54 out of the 82 samples sequenced last June 13 were classified as XBB subvariant, all of which came from Western Visayas.
These include 9 XBB.1.5 cases, 22 XBB.1.16 cases, 8 XBB.1.9.1 cases, 4 XBB.1.9.2 cases, and 5 XBB.2.3 cases.
“From May 2023 onwards, XBB and its sublineages were the most detected variant,” said the DOH.
Data also showed that there were 25 samples tagged as BA.2.3.20, with cases sourced from Western Visayas and Cordillera Administrative Region.
There is also one case from Western Visayas that was classified under “other Omicron sublineages”.
Lastly, two samples in the last batch of genome sequencing had no assigned lineages.
“The variants will continue to be locally monitored by the Department of Health,” said the DOH. — Gerard Naval
