Covid strain dubbed 'Nightmare Variant' doubled cases in days by 'beating immunity'
dailyrecord.co.ukA rapidly spreading Covid strain has been dubbed the Nightmare Variant after it was found to double infections in a matter of days.
The mutant strain formally known as XBB is said to be one of a 'slew' of new variants been shown to easily evade immunity from vaccines and infections.
The strain has been detected in 17 countries in Asia and Europe, with a handful of cases in the US. Nicknamed the Nightmare Variant by some media in Asia, because of its rapid spread, experts have said there are no signs it causes more serious illness, although it appears resistant to treatments, Wales Online reported.
UC Berkeley infectious disease expert John Swartzberg told the San Francisco Chronicle : "We are seeing a slew of new variants that are using a similar approach to survive - they are finding ways to evade the way we get immunity from vaccines and previous infection with changes on the spike protein." He added: "XBB is no different from the others." It comes as concerns grow in the US about newly detected Omicron sub-variants BQ.1 and BA1.1 that could drive another winter surge.
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