A new Covid strain has been identified by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as a likely contender to become the most dominant across the UK.
The Orthrus - or CH.1.1. - strain is part of the Omicron variant and may already account for as much as 23 percent of all Covid cases in England. The UKHSA has said that this sub-lineage is primed to 'take over' from the current dominant strain, BQ.1, also an Omicron offshoot.
This Orthrus strain was first identified in November of 2022. It is thought to come from a similar lineage to that of the Kraken - or XBB.1.5 - sub-lineage.
As reported by the Mirror, In the first week of 2023, England, Scotland and Wales recorded more than 30,000 new Covid cases.
The most recent report from Public Health Scotland found that there were around 219,600 people testing positive in Scotland, in the week ending December 31 2022. This Up slightly from the previous report in which there was estimated to be 213,100 Scots testing positive in the week ending December 28 2022.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) explained: "The analysis shows that coronavirus cases in the UK are primarily made up of BQ.1 and its sub-lineages, consistent with the UKHSA risk assessment published in October. Two variants, CH.1.1 and XBB.1.5, appear to have a growth advantage in the UK.
Both are variants in the Omicron family. XBB.1.5 remains at very low prevalence in the UK, so estimates of growth are highly uncertain.
"The risk assessment conducted by UKHSA together with academic partners found that CH.1.1 and XBB.1.5 are currently the variants most likely to take over from BQ.1 as the next dominant variant in the UK, unless further novel variants arise."
What are the symptoms of Orthrus?
Both the new Orthrus variant and Kraken have been said to share the same symptoms as Omicron.
The ZOE Health Study lists the most common symptoms as:
- Runny nose
Fatigue (mild or severe)
- Headache
Sore throat.
- Sneezing
Vaccine alliance Gavi reported that symptoms of Kraken have been more 'cold-like than flu-like' - which was particularly true among those who have either been vaccinated or have had COVID-19 before, it said.
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