Covid variant XBB.1.5 UK

A mutated version of the Omicron variant has seen a surge in infections in many countries, including China, USA, and the UK.

Dr Michelle Groome from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said: “This subvariant has been found in many other countries. However, that information was based on only nine samples and therefore a larger scale data set is needed to form a better conclusion. WHO officials, speaking at a press conference on January 4, warned it could be the most transmissible variant detected thus far. Professor Paul Hunter, a UK specialist in infectious diseases, said it is likely the variant will cause a surge in Covid cases in a couple of weeks’ time. South Africa’s National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said: “The department has been alerted to the case of a variant of concern called XBB.1.5 and is still gathering information about the case, including the patient’s health condition and travel history, (as well as the) severity, and transmissibility of the case. “The virus needs to bind tightly to cells to be more efficient at getting in and that could help the virus be a little bit more efficient at infecting people,” he explained. She added the new variant has already been found in 29 countries and is likely to be in more than previously thought. [Omicron](/topic/omicron) XBB and has accounted for around 40 per cent of [Covid](/news/politics/china-mark-harper-travellers-beijing-transport-secretary-b1050433.html) cases in the US. So what is this new variant and what are the early Recently, a case of the Kraken variant has been discovered in A mutated version of the Omicron variant has caused a surge in infections in many countries, including China, USA, and the UK, with a new case identified in South Africa. [Covid](/news/politics/nhs-prime-minister-a-e-sky-news-england-b1051532.html) Zoe app, tweeted: “XBB could be the new variant to watch out for in 2023.”

EXCLUSIVE: Figures from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, shows 50 per cent of cases in Wirral last week were caused ...

The Our World in Data graph shows the number of Covid cases logged daily, on average, in the UK (pink) and US (black) per million people. The figure has jumped 29 per cent in a week Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday showed that the strain is behind 41 per cent of cases. It shows the UK recorded 97 on December 27, while the US reported 183. Figures from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, show XBB.1.5 was spotted nine times in the week to December 17. The unprecedented pressure is expected to last until Easter — with hours-long ambulance queues and thousands of operations getting cancelled. Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire (11 per cent), Tower Hamlets in London (50 per cent) and Cornwall (33 per cent) all each reported one strain caused by the Omicron sub-variant Figures from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, shows 4 per cent of cases in the week to December 17 were caused by XBB.1.5 (shown in purple, bottom right corner) One XBB.1.5 sample was sequenced in Stroke-on-Trent, where 20 per cent of cases are thought to be caused by the strain. Five of the cases were spotted in Wirral in Merseyside, where scientists estimate it is behind 50 per cent of cases. [How dangerous is XBB.1.5? Figures from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, shows 50 per cent of cases in Wirral last week were caused by XBB.1.5, nicknamed the Kraken.

The XBB 1.5 variant is currently the most prevalent strain of COVID-19 in the US and has worked its way over to the UK.

It was shown to be the cause of surges of infection in parts of Asia in October, including India and Singapore. And more specifically, in the northeast of the country, around 75 percent of cases have been reported as XBB.1.5. It comes as cases of the variant had more than doubled in the US in one week. However, it has not yet been listed as a variant of concern by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). [Covid](/latest/coronavirus) virus has mutated several times. A number of variants have been the cause of millions of infections. It reported that four percent of Covid cases in the week up to December 17 were caused by XBB.1.5. [Centres for Disease Control and Prevention](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions) (CDC), more than 40 percent of Covid cases in the US are currently caused by the XBB.1.5 variant. Now, for the first time, the XBB.1.5 variant has been listed by the Sanger Institute, a Covid surveillance centre in the UK. Of these the [Omicron](/latest/omicron) variant, first detected in the UK in November 2021, has been the most dominant. Since the start of the pandemic the The XBB 1.5 variant is currently the most prevalent strain of COVID-19 in the US and has worked its way over to the UK.

Cases of the XBB.1.5 variant have more than doubled in the United States in just a week and it now accounts for more than 40% of Covid cases in America, ...

“Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if you do have to go out, wear a face covering. She said: “It’s important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible. Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, is now advising people who feel unwell to avoid going out and visiting vulnerable people unless it is urgent in a bid to minimise the spread of infection as winter illnesses are still circulating widely. The UK, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Australia are among the countries where the variant has been detected. “We will soon have more data on how well vaccines neutralise XBB.1.5. What we currently know: If you had an infection before July OR your last vaccine was before bivalent update in September, your protection against an XBB.1.5 infection is probably not that great. More inherently contagious? More immune evasive? Ashish Jha, the White House She told a press conference on Wednesday (4 January): “We are concerned about its growth advantage in particular in some countries in Europe and in the US... Concern about XBB.1.5 is largely due to how quickly it is spreading in the US, but so far it appears to be as mild as previous Advertisement