On the 10th, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced that a variant XBB.1 subtype was found in imported cases. This subtype was Omickron branch and reproduced from the BA.2 lineage. It was the first discovery in Hong Kong. It pointed out that its immune escape abili

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on the 10th that

XBB.1 subtype mutant strain

This subtype is Omickron branch

breeding from the BA.2 lineage

is the first discovered in Hong Kong.1

. Research pointed out that its immune escape ability

is temporarily the strongest mutant virus

. One case of BA.2.75.2 and one XBB.1 subtype case was found in the local imported case in Hong Kong. Both cases were asymptomatic infections, and no cases of mutant strain infection were found in the community. Among them, XBB.1 case is the first case in Hong Kong, a 50-year-old woman who arrived from the United States on September 25; BA.2.75.2 case is a 32-year-old woman who arrived from Singapore on September 23.

(On October 13, 2022, Hong Kong citizens traveled in Central. Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Yongnuo)

Expert consultant of the Hong Kong government and professor of the Department of Respiratory Systems of the Hong Kong Centre, said that the XBB.1 sub-series belong to the Omicron branch and is a variant that reproduces from the BA.2 lineage. It is highly contagious, but there is not much data for the time being.

XBB.1 virus has been discovered in Singapore, India, Germany and Denmark. Singapore's recent peak in the epidemic situation is also related to it. On October 11, Singapore had 11,732 new cases. The latest "breaking 10,000" was nearly three months ago, with 12,419 cases on July 26.

On October 4, a research released by the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Changping Laboratory of Peking University showed that among the emerging variants, BA.2.75.2 is the strongest immune evasion ability among the strains tested so far, "it is competing for dominance by implanting more immune avoidance mutations."

. Xiao Jieheng, associate professor of the Department of Medical Technology and Informatics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said on October 12 that XBB.1 is a new variant of the two viruses, BA.2.10 and BA.2.75. The second-generation variant BA.2.75 has an immune evasion ability that is more powerful than BA.4 and BA.5. As a new variant that reproduces from the BA.2 lineage, the XBB.1 subsector is more contagious.

Other new variant viruses have also appeared around the world, in addition to BA.4.6 and BA.2.75, there are also BF.7, etc. BF.7 has also been discovered in various parts of my country recently, including Hohhot, Shaoguan , Shenzhen, etc. BF.7 is the abbreviation of BA.5.2.1.7 and is considered to be the third generation subtype derived from the Omickron BA.5 variant. According to Fortune magazine, BF.7 has also spread rapidly in the United States, accounting for 4.6% of the total number of cases, compared with only 0.3% two months ago.

The new variant of the virus has not yet been seen causing more severe illness and death. Although it has faster transmission speed and stronger immune escape ability, XBB.1 currently accounts for about 1% of global cases, and it is difficult to determine whether it will become the mainstream virus strain in Hong Kong for the time being.

Hot, Director of the Hong Kong Center for Infectious Diseases, He Fengliang, He Fengliang, believes that there are few cases of XBB.1 mutant viruses in the international community and are not a key virus for the time being. The most important thing for residents at present is to do a good job of vaccination: "The existing vaccine has a protective effect and can reduce the incidence of severe illness and mortality."

However, most Hong Kong children and the elderly have not been vaccinated with the new crown vaccine . As of October 9, the third dose vaccination rate for children aged 3 to 11 was only 25.8%, and the third dose vaccination rate for people aged 80 or above was only 57.9%.

Source: Interface News, Shangguan News

Editor: Li Lijie

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