Status: 01/10/2023 4:47 p.m
In the northeast of the USA, the particularly contagious corona subvariant XBB.1.5 already dominates the infection process – and the WHO also sees signs of spread in Europe. Potential impacts are currently being assessed.
According to WHO information, the subline XBB.1.5 of the coronavirus variant Omicron is also on the rise in Europe. Recent data from some countries in the region are beginning to point to the increasing presence of XBB.1.5, WHO Regional Office Europe Director Hans Kluge said at an online press conference in Copenhagen.
Cases would be discovered in small but growing numbers. Work is being done to assess the potential impact, says Kluge. After three long years of the pandemic, one cannot afford any further pressure on the health systems.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD), among others, had expressed concern last week about the new variant. In the United States in particular, it quickly supplanted the previously prevailing corona variants. In the north-east of the USA, XBB.1.5 was first noticed in October and has dominated the infection process there since mid-December.
According to the WHO, the most contagious subvariant to date
According to Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO program to combat the corona pandemic, it is the “most contagious subvariant discovered to date”. So far, however, there are no signs that XBB.1.5 causes more severe diseases than other virus variants.
The Bremen epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb had said that it was relatively safe to say that XBB.1.5 would also become the dominant variant in Germany in the coming months. But there is no cause for great concern.
Kluge: No immediate danger from Corona in China
With a view to the aggravated corona situation in China, Kluge shared the current assessment of the EU health authority ECDC that the increase in the number of cases there is unlikely to have a major impact on the epidemiological situation in Europe. According to available information, the variants circulating in China are those that have been seen in Europe and elsewhere.
However, one should not become complacent, said Kluge. It is not unreasonable for countries to take precautionary measures to protect their populations. However, states that introduce precautionary travel measures should ensure that these are science-based, appropriate and non-discriminatory.