Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : January 21, 2023 9:57 AM IST
The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is circulating quickly in the US. Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that almost half of the of the COVID-19 infections (49.1 per cent) reported in the country for the week ending January 21 was caused by this subvariant. It accounted for 37.2 per cent of the total cases in the week ending January 14, and 35.5 per cent in the week before, according to the health agency.
Other two Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are estimated to account for about 40 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in the US in the latest week, as per CDC data.
It was projected that cases of XBB.1.5 variant would increase to nearly 7 per cent of the total COVID-19 infections in Canada by mid-January. This COVID variant account for 2.5 per cent of the total cases during the week of December 25, 2022 to January 2, 2023.
Spread of XBB variants are likely to increase in Canada, but whether they will become the dominant lineage is not known, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said in a speech on Friday.
Meanwhile, Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunisation released a statement on Friday urging people to get Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to reduce the risk of severe illness and death.
As reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the XBB.1.5 variant has spread to about 38 countries, of which maximum cases (82 per cent) are reported from the US.
XBB.1.5 has been reported to be detected in India as well. Earlier this week, INSACOG confirmed 26 cases of XBB.1.5 in India, reported from 11 states and Union territories.
For the unversed, the XBB.1.5 strain is a descendant of the Omicron XBB variant, which is known as a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants.
A recent study has suggested that this new variant is 63 times more resistant against existing antibodies than the BA.2 subvariant, 49 times more than the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
No new symptom is associated with this Omicron XBB variant. Current evidence suggests, COVID infections caused by XBB.1.5 show similar symptoms as the previous variants, like runny nose, sore throat, headache.
