In Europe, they prepared for the dominance of a new subspecies of COVID "kraken"

A new version of the CORONAVIRUS called "kraken" is actively spreading in the United States, in a few weeks its share increased there from 4 to 40%. The new mutation has every chance of becoming dominant in Europe as well,

A new subtype of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus called “kraken” (XBB.1.5) has every chance to displace the “omicron” that is now dominant in Europe, Politico reports. Now this substitution is actively happening in the United States.

“There is a possibility that this option could have an increasing impact on the number of cases of covid-19 in the European Union, but not within the next month, since this option is currently present in the EU only at very low levels,” the publication refers to data from the European Union. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

"Kraken" was first identified on October 22, 2022 in the United States, according to ECDC, it has become the "most transmissible sub-variant" and is spreading very aggressively - as the number of cases of infection "doubles every nine days."

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In the United States, in a few weeks, the number of detected cases of the “kraken” has increased from 4% to 40%, Politico writes, citing White House data.

The ECDC warns that the increased rate of spread of the new coronavirus subtype is likely due to XBB.1.5's ability to evade immune system defenses. He had a mutation in the spike protein, to which the antibodies of most created vaccines react.

The Kraken has already been found in Denmark, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Ireland. However, experts believe that this option will not necessarily become dominant in Europe. “During the pandemic, there have been significant differences in the circulation of variants between North America and Europe several times,” the ECDC warns.

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The now dominant Omicron strain of coronavirus was first detected in early November 2021, the first infections occurred in South Africa and Botswana, then it was detected in Europe.

Rospotrebnadzor announced the first cases of "omicron" in RUSSIA in early December 2021. It was identified in two citizens who arrived from South Africa.

In 2022, omicron strains became the dominant variants of the coronavirus in Russia. In June 2022, Rospotrebnadzor reported that Omicron accounted for nearly 98.3% of all COVID-19 cases detected in the country.