The new subvariant of omicronXBB.1.5, which is spreading rapidly in USAwas detected in South Africabut the scientists of that African country are not afraid that it will lead to a “big surge” of infections.
“I don’t think there will be a big wave of infections with a lot of hospitalizations in South Africa due to the strong immunity of the population and the preceding waves of omicron variants”assured on Twitter on Friday, Tulio de Oliveira, the star epidemiologist in South Africa, known for having discovered the beta and omicron variants of COVID-19.
South Africa – where the first case of omicron was detected at the end of 2021 – registered more than four million cases of COVID-19 and more than 102,500 people died from the virus, according to official data that made it the African country most affected by the pandemic.
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The XBB.1.5 subvariant is “the most contagious that has been detected so far”, warned this week the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Oliveira, the first cases of this subvariant in South Africa were detected in tests carried out at the end of December and since then there has been no evidence of “an increase in the number of cases, hospitalizations or deaths.”
XBB.1.5 is present in about thirty countries, especially in Europe and the United States where it is already the dominant subvariant.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
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