Composie image made by JEROME CRISTOBAL from REUTERS/INQUIRER stock photos
MANILA, Philippines — The ‘Hyperion’ or ‘XBB’ cases account for 83% of all subvariants in the Philippines, according to Octa Research fellow Guido David on Monday.
He made the observation after the DOH released a bio-surveillance report that detailed COVID-19 data sequencing from May 29 to June 12.
“Biosurveillance report by DOH and [Philippine Genome Center] for May 29 to June 12 2023, showed XBB subvariants accounted for 83% of cases sequenced in the Philippines,” said David in a Twitter post.
Among the XBB cases, the type XBB 1.9.1 or the “Hyperion” subvariant was the most prevalent, with 33 percent of cases.
DOH had previously said “XBB.1.9.1” does not show any difference in severity or clinical manifestations from other cases caused by the Omicron variant.
Biosurveillance report by DOH and PGC for May 29 to June 12 2023 showed XBB subvariants accounted for 83% of cases sequenced in the Philippines. Most prevalent were XBB 1.9.1 with 32%, XBB 1.5 with 16%, XBB 1.16 with 9% and XBB 2.3 with 8%. XBB 1.91 was most in NCR at 31%. #Covid pic.twitter.com/CrvftLkvMA
— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) June 19, 2023
David listed the subvariant percentages for May 29 to June 12 as follows:
BA 2.3.20: 9 percent
XBB 1.5 (Kraken): 16 percent
XBB 1.9.1 (Hyperion): 32 percent
XBB 1.9.2: 4 percent
XBB 1.16 (Arcutures): 9 percent
XBB 2.3 (Acrux): 8 percent
Other XBB: 14 percent
All other variants: 8 percent
Meanwhile, David mentioned lower COVID-19 positivity rates in most Luzon provinces.
However, as of June 17, Palawan and Pangasinan have more cases.
David identified the COVID-19 positivity rates.
Following is the list:
Bataan: 24 percent
Camarines Sur: 23 percent
Isabela: 29 percent
Pampanga: 21 percent
Pangasinan: 21 percent
RELATED STORIES:
DOH finds more new ‘XBB’ cases
DOH: First detected XBB.1.16 case asymptomatic, already recovered