Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 prevalence jumps to 75% in US

Los Angeles, Feb 11

The highly transmissible Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for about three-fourths of all Covid-19 cases reported in the US this week, according to the estimates released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 74.7 per cent of US' Covid-19 cases, up from 65.9 per cent the week prior. BQ.1.1 remains the second most prevalent strain at 15.3 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

The CDC started tracking XBB.1.5 separately from its parent strain XBB from the week of November 12 last year, when it accounted for only 0.1 per cent of cases nationwide. Since then, XBB.1.5 has been spreading quickly in the US.

XBB.1.5 is currently the most transmissible variant in the country. The subvariant may spur more Covid-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, according to the World Health Organisation.