BF.7 Omicron subvariant triggers fresh Covid fears: All you need to know about the new variant

New Covid variant: Chinese cities are reportedly hit by the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BF.7. The new variant has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK and some European nations.

Three cases have also been reported in India -- two in Gujarat and one in Odisha. However, two patients in Gujarat were treated in home isolation and have fully recovered, the state Health Department has said. 

According to health experts, the new variant quickly bypasses the immunity that a person has developed through a natural infection with an earlier variant or even if the complete course of the vaccines is taken.

All you need to know about BF.7

• BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 and has the strongest infection ability since it is highly transmissible.
• It has a shorter incubation period, and a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated.
• The symptoms of the new BF.7 sub-variant are similar to common flu and include cold, cough, fever, body pain, etc. 
• As it is highly transmittable, it spreads to a larger group of people within a short duration.
• The BF.7's high transmissibility in China might be attributed to a low level of immunity in the Chinese population from the previous infection and possibly vaccination too, reports suggest.

READ | Three cases of new Omicron subvariant BF.7, driving China's Covid surge, detected in India: Top updates