Kraken, a new variant of Covid-19, more precisely a sub-variant of Omicron very present in the United States, has been detected in 23 other countries, including the United Kingdom and France.
- Currently, there are 100% of Omicron among sequenced viruses in France, according to Santé Publique France.
- The incidence rate is 77.3 in France.
Scientists nicknamed it “Kraken”, but its scientific name is “XBB.1.5”. This is a new subvariant of Omicron, a subline of XBB – a mutation of Omicron – with a mutation of the spike spike protein: S486P.
“Kraken”: qWhat is this new sub-variant?
It is this spike protein, present on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, which allows the virus to attach to our cells. When it mutates, it therefore becomes different from that of the initial virus and can therefore invade the body more easily.
Thus, this new variant could therefore escape our immune response because it would be more capable of binding to ACE2. According to preliminary studies in the laboratory, XBB.1.5 would also be less sensitive to the antibodies produced thanks to the vaccination against Covid-19, compared to the previous mutations of Omicron.
Is this sub-variant of Omicron dangerous?
At this time, there is no overall increase in infections or deaths in the United States, where XBB.1.5. is the most present today. But scientists believe it is too early to say whether XBB.1.5 is more dangerous than previous Omicron subvariants and that there is no evidence that it poses a higher risk than the other subvariants.
“Kraken”: owhere was it detected?
The first time this Omicron subvariant was detected was in the United States in October 2022. Since then, XBB.1.5 has spread rapidly across the country and is now responsible for approximately 28% of all new infections.
Elsewhere, this subvariant has been detected in at least 23 countries, including the UK. But for now, it only represents 4% of Covid-19 infections in the country. In France, the situation does not yet seem worrying. According to Public Health France : “An increase in the circulation of XBB.1.5, a subline of the recombinant XBB, has been observed in the United States. The American authorities have not observed any particular signals in terms of severity. XBB.1.5 seems to circulate quietly in mainland France”. For the moment, there would be less than 1% of cases according to the health authority.
remains that the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published on Monday, January 9, an update of its assessment of the XBB.1.5 sub-variant. Otherwise, this subvariant is under surveillance.
