▲ Photomicrograph of cells infected with the COVID-19 omicron mutation (yellow grains)
German dpa news agency reported that an expert forecast that 'XBB.1.5', known to have the strongest transmission power among the Corona 19 omicron subvariants, will become the dominant species in Germany and other Europe within a few weeks.
"XBB.1.5 is spreading first in the United States and then in Germany to people who have been vaccinated for a long time and have weakened immunity," said Dr. It can be predicted with certainty that it will happen,” he said.
"XBB.1.5, which was first discovered in October of last year, became the dominant species in the northeast of the United States in the middle of last month and is gradually spreading to other regions," said Professor Richard Neher of the Virus and Bacterial Evolution Research Group at the University of Basel.
Professor Neher added, however, that little information is known about the severity of XBB.1.5, and that, given the US epidemic situation, this mutation is unlikely to be significantly different from other mutations that have been prevalent so far in terms of severe severity.
Earlier, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on the 6th that XBB.1.5 infections accounted for 27.6% of all new confirmed cases in the United States, an increase of 9.3 percentage points from December 31 last year (18.3%) a week ago.
CDC also estimated that XBB.1.5 infection appears to be already dominant in the Northeastern United States, accounting for more than 70% of new cases, and one-third of new cases elsewhere.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the mutation now seems to have spread to 28 countries around the world, including the United States.
Maria Van Kerkov, head of the WHO Corona 19 technical team, said at a press conference on the 5th that XBB.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)