As new strains of Covid are beginning to crop up in Thailand, the first infection of the highly resistant and contagious BQ.1 sub-variant has now been found in the kingdom. Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics confirmed the presence of the sub-variant of the Omicron strain, which mutated from the BA.5 sub-variant.
In a post on Facebook, the centre cited authorities worldwide warning of a potential outbreak of this strain of Covid that is resistant to immunity. They shared information from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data and said that in the US the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has issued outbreak alerts for both BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
The BQ.1 sub-variant now makes up a full 10% of all infections in the US, and it’s just now been identified in Thailand. This new strain is particularly troublesome because it has a rapid doubling time, meaning that it spreads remarkably quickly. The strain also can evade many of the available prevention methods like vaccines and immunity, according to US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci.
Having previously recovered from another strain of the Coronavirus create antibodies, but possibly not ones that can fight the BQ.1 sub-variant.
The antibody medications that are often employed to treat those infected with Covid may not be effective against these new strains. But there may be hope in a newer round of vaccines and antibody medications. Second-generation vaccines may battle the increase in viral load with better antibodies. If someone was vaccinated against BQ.1’s parent strain BA.5, that vaccine is likely more effective than an original immunisation. And a second-generation cocktail of antibody medication could help treat BQ.1 infections.
Thailand’s Centre for Medical Genomics is expecting that around the end of the year BQ.1 will overtake BA.5 as the dominant Covid strain in the country. The sub-variant spreads about 14% to 15% faster than the BA.2 and BA.5.2 strains. But there’s not yet full data on how it will affect death tolls or how severe infections may be.
Another Covid strain of concern, the XBB sub-variant was confirmed can two people in Thailand so far. One was a 49 year old Thai woman coming back from Singapore, while the other was a 60 year old foreign woman who had travelled from Hong Kong. Both had only mild symptoms and were identified after an examination at the same hospital.
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