Bhubaneswar: The first case of Omicron BF.7 Covid sub-variant was detected in Odisha.
As per the State Health and Family Welfare Department, the new variant was detected 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) conducted the genome sequencing for the 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 Health Department stated.
The person had tested asymptomatic at time of test. She got tested for her travel to the US. She and her family are in the USA since October. None of them have any flu like symptoms since their departure from India, the Health Department said while adding that there is no need to panic over the situation.