Bhopal, June 24 -- The Regional Virology Laboratory at AIIMS Bhopal has successfully sequenced 44 COVID-19 positive samples collected from various districts between the last week of May and the third week of June 2025. These samples were obtained from Bhopal (14 samples), Gwalior (22 samples), Tikamgarh (2 samples), and one sample each from Indore, Khargone, Chhindwara, Lalitpur, Sidhi, and Gaya.
The sequencing results revealed that the XFG variant has emerged as the predominant strain, found in 28 out of the 44 samples (63.6%). The XFG variant, which evolved from the previously circulating LF.7 variant, was first detected in the last week of May. It gradually increased in prevalence during the first and second weeks of June and became the...