XBB.1.5 is the scientific name of the new omicron variant that has been renamed Kraken, the name of a sea monster from Norse mythology, by T. Ryan Gregory, a professor of biological evolution at the University of Guelph. This being in question is described as a huge octopus, jellyfish or giant squid that lives in the depths and rises to the surface to attack ships and devour their occupants, which is why this name that has permeated the media is disturbing. But is this variant more dangerous than those that until now have been considered worrisome? Is it more contagious than the previous ones? What are your symptoms? Will it be the dominant from now on?
As reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) “the XBB.1.5 omicron variant is a sublineage of XBB, which is a recombinant of two BA.2 sublineages”, and as of January 11, cases had been found in 38 countries. –including Spain–, especially in the United States, where it was detected for the first time in November and now XBB and its sublineage already account for almost half of the cases of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health has reported that cases of the new omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant have been detected in Spain “in a timely manner”. The Department of Health of the Basque Government reported last week on the detection of the first infections of the kraken variant, which it described as “sporadic” cases, and the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Service of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital detected the first sequenced case on Monday in the Community of Madrid (and the fifth in Spain, according to the GISAID database as of January 9).
“Based on its genetic characteristics and estimates of the initial growth rate, XBB.1.5 may contribute to increasing the incidence of cases”
One of the concerns that arises when a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is identified is its immune escape or ability to evade the antibodies generated by the vaccines developed to combat COVID-19, or by previous infections, since it allows a more rapid and effective spread of the virus, and the WHO has warned that “along with the BQ.1 variants, the XBB variants are the most resistant to antibodies to date.” With the available data, the agency indicates, and “according to its genetic characteristics and estimates of the initial growth rate, XBB.1.5 may contribute to increasing the incidence of cases.”
Is the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 or kraken dangerous?
The fact that kraken is more contagious than other variants does not mean that it causes more serious disease, but it must be taken into account that the more people infected, the more the health risks, deaths and sequelae (persistent COVID) will increase. , especially among the most vulnerable population due to their age or previous pathologies, and for this reason it is essential that those over 60 years of age and those most susceptible to experiencing severe COVID symptoms receive the booster dose of the vaccine.
The symptoms of this new omicron subvariant are similar to those that have already been seen in patients with COVID, such as general malaise, fatigue, respiratory symptoms, hoarseness, headache, and changes in taste and smell, without it having been identified. none that are specific to XBB.1.5.
Víctor Jiménez Cid, Professor of Microbiology at the Complutense University of Madrid, explained in statements to 20minutos that XBB.1.5 “”has an additional mutation that makes it more similar to the receptor [células humanas] and more transmissible, which does not mean that it is more virulent, but that, being a new variant, it evades the immunity generated by the previous sublineages, so we can reinfect ourselves. But if we are vaccinated or have already passed other variants, we are protected against serious illness or death, unless we are people at risk. It is probably the version of SARS-CoV-2 that is going to be responsible for the next spikes.”
Another concern regarding the increased contagiousness and immune evasion of the XBB.1.5 subvariant is that the more people become infected or reinfected, the greater the number of cases of long-term COVID, as noted by Dr. Quinton Fivelman, Scientific Director of the Laboratory London Physician: “It is not difficult to conclude that the higher the number of new COVID cases, the more protracted COVID cases are likely to increase. With that in mind, we should be concerned about the number of people contracting the latest subvariant of COVID XBB1.5, known in the US as kraken.”
And he adds: “It is quite wrong to believe that long-term COVID was mainly caused by earlier variants of the virus and that new cases of the supposedly ‘milder’ omicron variants do not trigger long-term symptoms of COVID. In fact, 37% of all current cases have developed during this last omicron phase of the pandemic.”
Although experts do not rule out new pandemic outbreaks, vaccines and the immune systems of people who have already been in contact with the coronavirus continue to provide protection against severe illness and death. “We expect new waves of infection around the world, but that does not have to translate into new waves of deaths because our countermeasures continue to work,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist.
The WHO has also warned that the more infections caused by this and other SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, the more likely it is that virus mutations will evade the immune system’s defenses, a risk that exists with any virus and has already occurred in other times with flu pandemics that have caused thousands of deaths (or millions, as in the case of the so-called ‘Spanish flu’).
.
