Here’s why the COVID variant dubbed ‘Kraken’ is causing such concern and what makes it different than others |St. Catharines Standard - Alessia Passafiume:
January 5, 2023 - "A highly transmissible COVID subvariant that has drawn the concern of the World Health Organization [WHO], and is making up at least 40 per cent of COVID cases in the United States, is making its presence known in Canada, too. There have been at least 21 cases of XBB.1.5, an Omicron subvariant, detected in this country, the Public Health Agency of Canada says. The agency said it is carefully monitoring the spread of the subvariant — nicknamed 'Kraken' — though it is not yet listed as a variant of concern....
"Discovered in October, XBB.1.5 is more transmissible than any previously known variant, WHO COVID specialist Marina van Kerkhove said this week. There is currently no indication XBB.1.5 is more severe than previous strains, though it may be able to evade vaccine protection.
"Ontario does not yet have reported cases of XBB.1.5 specifically, the provincial Ministry of Health said, though cases may be captured under XBB.1 data. The ministry added it’s in the process of updating the relevant software and once that’s done, it will be able to identity XBB.1.5 cases and reclassify those that were previously classified as XBB.1.
"In British Columbia, 12 cases of XBB.1.5 had been detected in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions, according to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. It’s unclear how many XBB.1.5 cases are circulating in that province, as PCR tests — the tests needed to sequence the virus to identify variants — are used mainly in health-care settings, such as hospitals. The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control said XBB.1.5 is 'of interest' because it has acquired additional mutations that enhance its binding properties. 'These mutations may indicate that this variant is able to spread more easily but it does not mean that it is more severe,' the BCCDC said.
"Following the first holiday season in recent years where mandatory COVID-19 public health measures weren’t in place, one epidemiologist is raising concern about the potential spread of XBB.1.5 in Canada. 'Not everyone is updated with their vaccines,' said Dr. Sameer Elsayed, professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at Western University....
"South of the border, the new subvariant doesn’t appear to be slowing down. In mid-November, only 0.3 per cent of COVID cases in the U.S. were confirmed to be XBB.1.5, according to data from that country’s Centre for Disease Control — yet by the end of December, the subvariant was responsible for more than 40 per cent of cases.
"In late October, the World Health Organization reported that XBB had been detected in more than a dozen countries and cited higher reinfection risks compared to other circulating Omicron sublineages. XBB and its sublineages are a recombination of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 variants, WHO said, meaning the viruses exchanged genetic material to create a new subvariant....
"For the week of Dec. 11, the latest publicly available data from the federal government’s COVID-19 epidemiology update, BA.5 made up the majority of COVID-19 cases in Canada, sitting at just above 92 per cent of all tested cases. Less than one per cent of cases at that time were caused by XBB.1.5.
"Cases of long COVID may rise along with XBB.1.5, as nearly five per cent of those infected with Omicron or its subvariants develop the condition, Elsayed said.... People who are at high risk, like older and immunocompromised people, should update their vaccines if they’re eligible to do so to prevent severe outcomes, said Elsayed. And to prevent the spread, “returning to the basics” of mask wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene is a good strategy, he added, echoing similar advice given by the Public Health Agency of Canada."
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