Portugal has already registered “a few dozen cases” of the XBB lineage of the Ómicron variant
The Ricardo Jorge Institute (INSA) detected in Portugal “a few dozen cases” of the XBB lineage of the virus that causes covid-19, but only one was classified as being of the XBB.1.5 lineage, associated with greater transmissibility.
“The XBB.1.5 recombinant is a strain of the XBB lineage – one of the multiple lineages of the Ómicron variant -, which, like XBB itself, is thought to be associated with escape from the immune system”, explained the INSA researcher today to Lusa John Paul Gomes.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that it was assessing the risk of the new XBB.1.5, which is spreading rapidly in several countries, such as the United States, where it already represents about 40% of cases. of covid-19.
The WHO technical leader in the response to covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, went further and stated, in the press videoconference, that XBB.1.5 “is the most transmissible subvariant detected so far”.
According to João Paulo Gomes, who is coordinating the study on the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, the XBB.1.5 subline “may be associated with greater transmissibility, given its significant increase in frequency in some regions” of the world.
However, “it will be prudent to wait for its frequency evolution in several countries to understand its real epidemiological impact”, said the INSA specialist.
For the researcher, “it is still early” to understand whether this subline will have any significant impact on hospitalizations due to covid-19, as it is different from the other strains already in circulation of the Ómicron variant.
INSA has been coordinating, since April 2020, the study to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, through the analysis of the genome of this pandemic virus, with the collaboration of a network of hospitals and laboratories at national level.
XBB.1.5 is a two-stranded recombinant of BA.2 and was originally identified in October 2022, having already been detected in 29 countries.
Covid-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, a type of virus detected three years ago in China and which has spread rapidly around the world, with several variants and subvariants, some more contagious than others.
The disease has been an international public health emergency since January 30, 2020 and a pandemic since March 11, 2020.