COVID-19: Fresh Concerns as New ‘Kraken Variant’ Emerges

The emergence of a new COVID-19 variant known as XBB.1.5 has raised fresh concerns over what may become a potentially deadly new wave of the pandemic.

Nicknamed the “Kraken variant”, because of its ability to spread rapidly, the new variant is reputed to be the most transmissible sub-variant detected so far, even as the World Health Organisation, WHO announced an increase in cases of an Omicron sub-variant across numerous countries.

According to the WHO, the XBB.1.5 variant has already been identified in at least 30 countries including China and South Africa and is now dominant in the United States of America.

Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the XBB and XBB.1.5 sub-variants accounted for 44.1 percent of Covid-19 cases in the US in the week of December 31, up from 25.9 percent the previous week.

He said that the WHO was following developments closely and assessing the risk of the sub-variant.

Dubbed “The Kraken”, new Covid XBB.1.5 variant has been recorded in the UK. This Omicron sub-variant has been driving up cases in the US, with experts saying it’s the one to watch. The Kraken is currently thought to trigger symptoms similar to previous Omicron strains.

Health experts and scientists are now monitoring the new sub-variant in order to determine whether it gives dominance to certain symptoms.

Essentially, the symptoms of XBB.1.5 are different from those caused by other Omicron sub-variants.

According to the WHO,  The Kraken variant is a descendant of the omicron XBB subvariant — which is a cross between two earlier strains: BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1.

Although accounting for just 1 percent of all Covid cases at the start of December, the WHO warns that it is surging and spreading to become the dominant strain in places.

The WHO Director-General said that although clinical care management, vaccines, and treatments have put COVID infections on the decline,  the threat persists.

“Major inequalities in access to testing, treatment, and vaccination continue. Every week, approximately 10,000 people die of COVID-19. The true toll is likely much higher.

“The current COVID-19 epidemiological picture is troubling. There is intense transmission and pressure on health systems, particularly in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, and a recombinant sub-variant spreading quickly.”

In the views of WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove,” XBB.1.5  is “the most transmissible sub-variant which has been detected yet.”

Although WHO assured that the proportion of infections caused by XBB.1.5 has remained low, it cautioned that the picture may rapidly change.

Scientists say that the sub-variant has a much stronger affinity to ACE2, a key receptor for the virus, which allows it to bind more easily and boosts its transmissibility.

The new virus is largely attracting attention because it is exhibiting signs of immunity escape, meaning that it has the ability to evade natural immunity or previous protection provided by vaccines, and can re-infect people that have recovered from earlier bouts of Covid.

Also responding to the development, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said that even though the Kraken sub-variant had not been detected in Nigeria, the country was alert.

But in a statement, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, assured that there was no need to panic over the ‘Kraken’ Covid-19 variant.

The Agency said it was monitoring the situation and would announce findings as they developed.

January 12, 2023