‘Oku taupotu ‘i lalo ha fakamatala fakaTonga
There was no evidence a new variant of Covid-19 causes more severe illness according to a University of Otago expert.
The XBB1.5 variant now accounts for about 40% of cases in the US, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms with XBB.1.5 are the same as with earlier variants and can range from almost nothing to shortness of breath and low oxygen levels that require emergency medical attention.
Professor Peter McIntyre from the University of Otago said XBB.1.5 appeared to be similar to other variants of Omicron, RNZ reported.
He said it may be more likely to cause infection, including in people who had been vaccinated or infected before.
The existence of a new variant was not important in itself. What mattered was if there was any evidence that it caused not just breakthrough infection, but that it resulted in severe illness, he said.
In New Zealand the number of reported case numbers has fallen, as has the number of people hospitalised.
Globally, other experts have cautioned against over-reacting to the new variant.
In the United States an official from the CDC official said there was no indication it caused more severe illness than other Omicron variants.
Dr Barbara Mahon, director of CDC’s Coronavirus Division, told the American NBC network that while the number of people in hospital in the US with Covid was rising, areas with high levels of the new variant, such as the northeast, did not have a disproportionate increase in hospitalisations.
The number of people hospitalised at this time was well below last year’s Omicron surge.
The XBB.1.5 variant has been detected in the UK and is thought to account for about four percent of Covid viruses being sequenced.
Professor of clinical microbiology at Cambridge University, Ravi Gupta, told the Guardian he thought the new variant might drive an increase in cases, but he not necessarily an explosive wave of infections in the UK.
“I don’t think there’s any cause to panic. The main thing we worry about is the severity of the disease, and there is no evidence that it’s more severe. People should, however, make sure they are up-to-date with their vaccines,” Professor Gupta said.
In Canada, Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organisation at the University of Saskatchewan, said she did not expect to see big changes in terms of disease severity, since infections would happen in a population where people had been vaccinated and infected with the Omicron variant.
However, while experts have been careful not to over-react to the emergence of a new variant, they have all urged people to make precautions against the virus, making sure their immunisation and boosters are up to date and taking other precautions, such as mask wearing, as necessary.
Fakamatala fakaTonga
Ko e talanoa āeni ki he fÅtunga kehe foāou XBB1.5 āo e Koviti āa ia ko e pÄseti ia āe 40 āo e ngaahi keisi āi US, fakatatau ki ha teita mei he Senita ki he Disease Control and Prevention.
Ko e ngaahi fakaāilonga āo e XBB.1.5 āoku tatau pe mo e ngaahi fotunga kehe ki muāa angeā pea āoku lava ke āalu mei he ikai ha meāa āe hoko ki he nounou āa e mÄnava mo e tÅ lalo āa e levolo āo e āosikena āa ia āe fiemaāu ai ha tokoni fakafale mahaki.
Kuo pehe āe PalÅfesa Peter McIntyre mei he āUnivesiti āo Otago āoku ngali tatau āa e XBB.1.5 mo e ngaahi fÅtunga kehe āo e āOmikoloniā. Naāaā ne pehÄ āe malava pe ke ne fakatupu ha puke, pea āe malava ke toe puke pe ai āa e kakai ne āosi huhu maluāi pe pihia ki muāaā.
āI Nuāu Silaā, kuo holo āa e tokolahi āo e ngaahi keisi naāe lipÅtiā tatau pe mo e fika āo kinautolu ne tÄkoto fale mahakiā. FakamÄmani lahiā, oku tokanga āa e kau mataotao keheā ki he fuāu hohaāa ki he fÅtunga kehe foāouā. āI āAmelikaā, naāe pehÄ āe ha āofisiale mei he CDC naāe āikai ha fakaāilonga te ne fakatupu ha puke lahi laka ange he ngaahi fÅtunga kehe āo e āOmikoloniā.
Ne pehÄ āe Dr Barbara Maho, ko e talÄkita āo e CDCās Coronovirus Division āi haāane lau ki he American BNC ko e lolotonga naāe mahiki āa e tokolahi āo kinautolu maāu āe he Kovitiā ne āi fale mahaki āi āAmelikaā naāe āikai taāe hohoatatau āa e fakalalahi āa e tÄkoto fale mahaki ia āi ngaahi feituāu hangÄ āi he Tokelau hahakeā.
Ko e tokolahi āo e kakai kuo āi fale mahaki āi he taimi peheni āo e taāu kuo āosi he āoho āa e āOmikoloniā, āoku fuāu siāisiāi āaupito ia.
Ko e fÅtunga foāou ko āeni XBB.1.5 kuo āasi ia āi UK pea āoku āi ai āa e tui ko e pÄseti ia āe fÄ āo e vailasi Koviti kotoa kuo lava ke fakahokohokoā.
PehÄ āe PalÅfesa Ravi Gupta mei he āUivÄsiti āo Cambridge ki he Guardian naāa ne fakakaukau āe ala fakalahia āe he fÅtunga foāouā ha tupulaki āi he ngaahi keisiā, ka e āikai ko ha fuāu tupu fÄfÄ ia āi UK. Meāa tatau pe āi Kanata fakatatau kia Dr Angela Rasmussen ko e vilolosisi he univesiti āo Saskatchewan, āa ia naāa ne pehe āe āikai ha āamanaki ki ha toe mapuna āa e mahaki āi he ngaahi feituāu ne āosi huhu maluāi mo puke ai āa e kakai he āOmikoloniā.
Neongo ia ne faleāi āe he kau mataotaoā ki he kakai ke āoua āe fuāu tokanga tÅtuāa ki he āasi āa e fÅtunga foāou, kuo nau fakalotolahiāi āa e kakai ke nau tokateu āo fakafepakiāi āa e vailasi āaki āa e fakapapauāi āoku muiaki fakakakato āa honau huhu maluāi mo e hoaniā mo e ngaahi maluāi kehe hangÄ ko e masakiā.
