International – WHO reports new Omicron subvariant cases detected in 29 countries worldwide

A new COVID-19 subvariant, XBB.1.5, is causing concern in the US, where it has been spreading rapidly since December.

Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that XBB and XBB.1.5 accounted for 44.1% of US COVID-19 cases in the week of 31 December, compared to 25.9% in the previous week. XBB.1.5 has also been detected in 29 other countries worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported.

XBB.1.5, which is another descendant of the Omicron variant, is “the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet”, WHO COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, said at a press conference this week…