“WHO Weekly Epidemiological Update: XBB.x Family Outbreaks Increase Worldwide in April 2023 with XBB.1.16 as a New Variant of Interest, Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean Regions Witness Dramatic Surge in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths, Chulalongkorn University Reports on Global Infections and Top 5 Affected Countries”

2023-04-21 04:39:02

On April 21, 2023, Assoc. Chulalongkorn University Posted on Thira Woratanarat’s Facebook page stated that …

Yesterday, around the world, there were 54,179 more infections, 177 more deaths, a total of 686,065,136 people, and a total of 6,845,466 deaths.

The top 5 most infected are South Korea, Japan, France, Russia and the United States.

As of yesterday, in the number of new infections, countries from Europe and Asia occupied eight of the top 10 and 17 of the top 20 globally.

The number of new infections per day around the world right now from Asia and Europe Together, it accounted for 88.29 percent of the world, while the number of deaths accounted for 70.62 percent.

…Update from WHO

The World Health Organization published the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Update last night, April 20, 2023.

In the past month, it was found that Southeast Asia There was a 654% increase in new cases over the previous month and a 210% increase in deaths, and the Eastern Mediterranean region saw a 96% increase in cases and 134% more deaths.

The World Health Organization is currently tracking the major Omicron subspecies XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 as Variants of Interest (VOI), while the other six are BA.2.75, CH.1.1, BQ.1, XBB. , XBB.1.9.1 and XBF are classified as Variants under Monitoring (VUM).

Almost 90% of the global outbreaks are now caused by the XBB.x family.

Data up to 2 April 2023 shows that XBB.1.5 accounted for 50.8% of the outbreak spread to 96 countries, while XBB.1.16 accounted for around 4.2% from 31 countries.

The Health Organization estimates that Based on the enhanced diffusion capacity and immune resistance nature of XBB.1.16, it is expected that there will be a global outbreak in the coming period. There is currently no data indicating that it is more virulent than the original strain. The WHO is conducting a risk assessment. and will release a report soon.

…Update XBB.1.16

Based on data from Rajnarayanan R compiled by GISAID, as of 20 April 2023, XBB.1.16 has been reported in 37 countries.

…For Thailand, we should live with caution, not careless

avoid crowded places poor ventilation

Should not share food and belongings with others.

Wearing a mask correctly can greatly reduce the risk.