The new Kovid variant ‘Kraken’ has been termed by WHO as the most transmissible. Is it worrying?

The efficient and rapid spread of the variant has been a cause for concern. This is especially considering that the XBB.1.5 variant that was first discovered in October is now causing double the number of cases.

WHO technical advisory group On Virus Evolution stated that the “rapidly increasing proportion of XBB.1.5 in the United States and other countries” is an immediate concern.

Here’s Everything You Need to Know

What is Kraken Covid variant?

A descendant of the Omicron XBB version, the XBB.1.5 version is codenamed ‘Kraken’. The XBB.1.5 variant is a cross between BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1.

especially before XBB Variant has spread rapidly and caused waves of infection in India and Singapore as the WHO flagged the rapid spread of the variant.

How does the Kraken Covid variant spread?

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that the Kraken Covid variant accounted for only 1% in the US in December 2022, but is now responsible for nearly 41% of all infections.

Spreading nearly 40 times faster, the Kraken COVID variant, or XBB.1.5, has been called “the most transmissible sub-variant yet discovered” by Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead.

Should you be worried?

While the XBB.1.5 variant or the Kraken Covid variant has only been detected in 29 countries, including the US, experts have suggested that a decline in testing and the easing of Covid restrictions may have facilitated the silent spread of the virus.

Estimates from the Wellcome Sanger Institute found that the variant accounted for about 4% of Covid infections in England by mid-December, while Canada had only a small number of such cases.

The scientists reported that the sub-variant has a stronger affinity for ACE2, a key receptor for the virus, which allows it to bind more easily and increase its transmissibility.

How dangerous is the Kraken Covid variant?

The subvariant spreads efficiently despite accumulated immune protection from vaccines and previous infection with other subvariants. Immunologist called it “immune suppressant,

according to a Bloomberg In the report, previous treatments to combat Covid – such as monoclonal antibody treatments – were rendered ineffective by previous strains. This trend is set to continue with the new version. In a recent peer-reviewed article published in the journal Scientists the cell Warned that subvariants like XBB pose a “serious threat” to existing Covid vaccines.

Higher transmissibility also means that more people are likely to be infected, and thus suffer serious consequences.

“Although further studies are needed, current data do not suggest that there are substantial differences in disease severity for XBB* infections. However, early evidence points to a higher re-infection risk compared to other circulating Omicron sublineages.” .. Cases of reinfection were mainly confined to people with initial infection in the pre-Omicron period,” the WHO Technical Advisory Group said.

Why the name Kraken?

Covid variants are currently named by an expert group convened by the WHO. It identifies so-called forms of concern that have potential global public health significance, such as using the Greek alphabet to reduce the effectiveness of current pandemic measures. Past tenses such as alpha, beta and delta fall under convention.

But the last Greek-named variant, Omicron, emerged more than a year ago and left no room for the emergence of other, significantly different strains. Omicron has spawned several lineages, including XBB.1.5, and their names are derived from a mixture of letters and numbers, known as “pango”. This has led to a rise in popularity of informal online nicknames, including “Kraken”. The moniker for XBB.1.5 was proposed by an evolutionary professor on Twitter to match the strength of the new strain with that of the mythical sea monster.