MANILA — The Philippines detected 144 new cases of omicron COVID-19 subvariants, the Department of Health said Thursday.

According to the DOH's latest biosurveillance report, 81 were classified as BA.2.3.20, 1 was BA.2.75, 7 were BA.5, 43 were XBB, 1 was XBC and 11 as other omicron subvariants.

These are results of the latest sequencing run conducted from Dec. 27, 2022 to Jan. 2, 2023, the agency said.

The DOH said all additional BA.2.3.20 cases were local cases coming from Regions 3, 4A, 4B, 6, 8, and Metro Manila.

The recently detected BN.1 case, reported under BA.2.75, was a local case from Region 6 while additional BA.5 cases were from Regions 3, 4B, 6 and 12.

Meanwhile, recently detected XBB cases were from Regions 3, 4A, 6, and Metro Manila, and the additional XBC case was from Region 6, the report showed.

While previous "variants of concern" like alpha and delta eventually petered out, omicron and its sublineages have dominated throughout 2022.

All omicron variants tend to have a milder disease course as they settle less in the lungs and more in the upper nasal passages, causing symptoms like fever, tiredness, and loss of smell.

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So far, the BA.5 is still the dominant strain in the Philippines, with 12,648 cases, according to the DOH.

It is followed by BA.2.3.20 with 3,829 cases, XBB with 921 cases, XBC with 597 cases, and BA.4 with 325 cases.

The country also has 37 BA.2.75 cases, 18 BQ.1 cases, 4 BF.7 cases and 3 BN.1 cases.

The Philippines has yet to detect omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, a descendant of XBB and XBB.1.

According to Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious diseases expert, this variant has been detected in 29 countries.

"The data from US CDC indicated that this subvariant has a very rapid growth advantage over the ongoing variants na nakikita nila," he said in a televised briefing.

"That's why we are monitoring the behavior of this XBB.1.5 that is expected na itong mga bansa na nag-report ng XBB.1.5 will also have an increase in the cases," he added.

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PTV

— With a report from Agence France-Presse