13 Jan 2023 • Nicknamed as the 'kraken variant' by some, it has now been identified in at least 29 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). XBB.1.5 is a descendant of the omicron XBB subvariant - which is itself a cross between two earlier strains: BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1. The original XBB variant has already caused waves of infection in countries including Singapore and India since the WHO first raised concern about it last October. WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, said that this is the most transmissible sub-variant which has been detected yet. While only 29 countries have reported cases caused by it, health authorities are warning it could be much more widespread and silently proliferating thanks to a drop-off in testing. While the WHO has expressed concern about the variant, experts in India see no reason for alarm yet.

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