There are two new kids in the Covid-19 gang. They are called XBB and BQ1.1. We would have preferred it to be the name of new robots from the Star Wars universe, but unfortunately no, these are new strains of the virus.
And who says new strain, says new symptom. On social networks, the BQ1.1 variant has particularly stood out for being the cause of many digestive disorders, such as diarrhea, stomach aches or vomiting. Nothing very pleasing. Only, with the Parisian, specialists explain that these are only “guesses”. 20 Minutes returns to this excitement around new unsavory symptoms.
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It all started overnight from Monday to Tuesday, when nephrologist and pediatrician Rémi Salomon wrote on his Twitter: “The arrival of the BQ1.1 variant is not good news. […] It has the particularity of causing diarrhea and vomiting. The day after, The Express publishes an article on this subject entitled “Covid: Diarrhea, vomiting… The new symptoms of the BQ1.1 variant”. The title has since been changed to “Covid: What do we know about the new symptoms of the BQ1.1 subvariant? “. “This article has been updated to emphasize the still hypothetical nature of the link between the new symptoms mentioned and the BQ1.1 subvariant”, explains an edit of October 12.
On Tuesday, Rémi Salomon also deleted his tweet, specifying “I have been told that the sources indicating the presence of digestive disorders with this variant are not reliable. On the other hand BQ1.1 arrives well in several countries and the experimental work showed that it escapes more our antibodies. It remains to be seen how serious.
Indeed, our colleagues from Parisian explained in an article published on Wednesday that these side effects had mainly been revealed by an unverified Thai site “Thailand Medical News”. The article showed that several clinical observations of the new variant revealed “severe abdominal pain”. However, the article is based on 14 positive cases, a panel too small to draw any conclusions.
“These are mostly observations”
The problem is that this variant – if closely monitored – is too recent to draw too hasty conclusions about its side effects. “At the moment, we only know that this variant is part of the Omicron family and more precisely that it derives from BA5, it is a kind of sub-variant. It is being watched closely as it has three more mutations compared to the BA5 variant. This suggests that it is a variant that could resist antibodies a little more,” explains Yannick Simonin, virologist and teacher-researcher at the University of Montpellier.
According to the specialist, there is not yet enough data for the moment to attribute digestive disorders to this new variant. “These are mostly observations, no scientific article really proves it. We still only have a few testimonials from doctors who observe a few more symptoms, ”underlines Yannick Simonin.
Problems already present
In addition, digestive disorders have always existed in the side effects of Covid-19, even if they remained very minor. “We have already observed nausea or diarrhoea, for example. Does the BQ1.1 variant cause more gastric problems? Maybe yes, maybe no”, tempers the virologist. For now, the question is too hasty and the answer will surely be hasty or even wrong.
However, it could also be that side effects – such as stomach upset – change from the previous variants. “It’s not impossible. We have already noticed changes in symptoms between the different variants,” says Yannick Simonin. Before adding: “The majority of the population is either vaccinated or infected, or both. This criterion can have a consequence on the appearance of symptoms, attenuate them and less attenuate others”. More reliable data is expected in the coming weeks.