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Filipino with no travel history is Philippines' first XBB.1.5 case - DOH

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (purple) infected with the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (teal), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/02/14/omicron-strain-of-sars-cov-2-virus-particles.jpg"/><figcaption>Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (purple) infected with the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (teal), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The country&#x27;s first case of omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 was found in a Filipino with no recent travel history, the Department of Health said Tuesday.According to DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, the patient has already recovered after experiencing mild symptoms of the disease.&quot;Itong XBB.1.5 is a Filipino. Local siya na detection. There were no histories of any type of travel. Unknown &#x27;yung kanyang exposure,&quot; she said in a press briefing.XBB.1.5, dubbed the &quot;Kraken,&quot; is the most transmissible COVID-19 subvariant so far, experts have said.Vergeire said the DOH was able to identify the patient&#x27;s close contacts, who were all asymptomatic. The patient&#x27;s sample was collected on January 9. &quot;Sa ngayon tapos na rin kung saka-sakali &#x27;yung stage where they need to quarantine para lang mapigilan natin ang transmission ng sakit na ito,&quot; she said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/23/ph-records-first-cases-of-covid-variants-xbb15-ch11">Philippines records first cases of COVID variants XBB.1.5, CH.1.1</a></li></ul>The DOH said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control classified XBB.1.5, an offshoot of the XBB subvariant, &quot;as a variant of interest due to its increasing prevalence globally and enhanced immune-evading properties.&quot;The variant has been detected in 59 countries across 6 continents, according to sequence submissions in GISAID, a global platform for COVID-19 data. Based on estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the subvariant accounted for 66.4 percent of cases in the US from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, 2023. According to the rapid risk assessment conducted by the World Health Organization, there is moderate-strength evidence for increased risk of transmission and immune escape, the DOH report read.However, currently available evidence for XBB.1.5 does not suggest any differences in disease severity and clinical manifestations compared to the original omicron variant, it added.&quot;Currently, the subvariant is still reported under XBB by the WHO and will remain classified under omicron until sufficient evidence arises showing that the virus characteristics are significantly different from omicron,&quot; the DOH said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/06/23/xbb15-likely-to-be-the-next-major-covid-subvariant">XBB.1.5 likely to be the next major COVID subvariant</a></li></ul>

The country's first case of omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 was found in a Filipino with no recent travel history, the Department of Health said Tuesday.