A new subvariant of omicron that already accounts for more than 40% of Covid-19 infections in the United States has left health authorities around the world on alert. Pointed out as the possible most contagious version of the coronavirus so far, the so-called XBB.1.5 has also been detected in 28 other countries, according to the WHO (World Health Organization).
According to the most recent monitoring update carried out by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 40.5% of Covid cases in the country are currently caused by XBB.1.5. The new variant spreads mainly in the northeast of the country, with the number of infected people practically doubling every two weeks. In early December, underscore accounted for only 1.3% of infections.
What is the XBB.1.5 subvariant?
XBB.1.5 is yet another descendant of omicron, the globally dominant variant of the coronavirus. It is a branch of the XBB, detected for the first time in October last year, and which, in turn, is the result of a recombination of two other subvariants of the omicron.
“This is the most transmissible subvariant ever detected,” WHO senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said at a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. “This is due to mutations found within this omicron subvariant that allow the virus to adhere to the cell and reproduce easily.”
How dangerous is she?
WHO said it does not yet have data on the severity or possible impact of XBB 1.5 on patients. So far, there is no indication that the new variant is more dangerous, although increased transmissibility is always a concern.
“We expect new waves of infection around the world, but this need not translate into new waves of death because our countermeasures continue to have an effect,” said Van Kerkhove, alluding to vaccines and treatments.
Virologists agree that the emergence of the new subvariant does not necessarily represent a new crisis in the coronavirus pandemic. This is only to be expected as the virus continues to spread around the world, they say.
XBB.1.5 is likely to spread globally, but it remains unclear whether it will cause its own wave of infections. According to experts, current vaccines continue to protect against severe symptoms, hospitalization and death.
How is the WHO dealing with the issue?
According to Van Kerkhove, the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution is doing a risk assessment on the subvariant. The results should be announced in the next few days.
The WHO also said it was closely monitoring any changes in the severity of the subvariant based on statistics and laboratory studies.
Increase in cases in China
As XBB.1.5 spreads rapidly in the US, China is facing a wave of new cases and hospitalizations shortly after it abandoned its Covid-zero policy late last year in response to a series of public protests. World health officials have criticized Beijing for not sharing enough data on the rise with the international community.
“We continue to call on China to provide more timely and regular reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive real-time viral sequencing,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday. .
Meanwhile, more and more countries are requiring airline passengers arriving from China to test negative for Covid-19 before boarding their flights. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has reacted to the measures by saying they lack scientific basis and accusing governments of manipulating the pandemic for political ends.
“With circulation so high in China and the lack of comprehensive data, it is understandable that some countries are taking measures that they believe will protect their own citizens,” Tedros said on Wednesday.
lack of transparency
Throughout December, China officially recorded only 13 deaths from Covid-19, despite thousands of cases of infection reported daily, in addition to crowded hospitals and overwhelmed crematoria.
On Wednesday, a WHO expert group said that no worrying new variants of Covid had been identified in China based on the information that Chinese authorities had shared. According to the WHO, Chinese scientists shared more than 770 sequences, with the BA.5 omicron subvariants and their descendants accounting for more than 97% of all local infections.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said it saw no risk of the Covid outbreak in China affecting the unfolding of the pandemic in Europe, given high vaccination rates across the continent. It also noted that the variants currently spreading in China were already present in Europe, suggesting that any transmission from China would have negligible impact.
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