7 Feb 2023 • Now experts warn of Orthrus. Officially called CH.1.1, this Omicron spawn could leave the fast-spreading Kraken behind. What do we know about “Orthrus”?

• CH.1.1 is an Omicron spawn, which is now on the radar of the United States Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While XBB. 1.5 continues to dominate cases in the US, CH. 1.1 is now likely to spread.
• CH. 1.1’s ability to evade (Collated by CovidRxExchange) neutralising antibodies is “extraordinary"".
• It has the potential to be more transmissible, evade immunity from vaccine and infection, and cause more severe disease.
• What’s more, it features a concerning mutation seen in the deadly Delta variant that generally isn’t seen in Omicrons—one that could make it even more daunting of a foe.
• While CH.1.1 isn’t a “Deltacron”—a recombinant, or combination, of Delta and Omicron—it’s a prime example of convergent evolution, a process through which COVID variants evolve independently but pick up the same mutations

We can’t comment on the future of Orthrus (CH 1.1), but we can only say, time to tighten our surveillance and keep a tight watch on the emergence of any hotspots.

Source: CovidRxExchange | Read full story