The corona virus variant XBB.1.5 has arrived in Potsdam. The type of virus was first detected last week during sequencing at the municipal Bergmann Clinic, said clinic spokeswoman Theresa Decker when asked by PNN. So far there has been proof. The BA.5 and BQ.1 variants continue to be the predominant virus variants.
Around 220 samples are sequenced weekly, and the trend is falling
The clinic is nevertheless assuming a decline in sequencing for Sars-Cov-2. Because the PCR sample quantities are also declining, the spokeswoman explained. Most recently, around 220 virus-positive samples were sequenced weekly – not all of them necessarily come from Potsdam.
The state capital has not reported any infection numbers to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for about a week because of the cyber attack. As a result, the officially reported seven-day incidence of new corona infections in Potsdam fell to 0.0 on Friday.
XBB.1.5. causes increasing hospital admissions in the USA
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had expressed concern about the new virus variant this week. “Hopefully we can get through the winter before such a variant can spread to us,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday night. “We monitor whether and how strong XBB.1.5. occurs in Germany.” The new variant is increasing the number of hospital admissions in the north-east of the USA.
At the beginning of the year, the US health authority CDC estimated that XBB.1.5 accounted for around 40.5 percent of all new infections in the USA in the week before the turn of the year. The World Health Organization (WHO) was already concerned about the new coronavirus variant on Wednesday. The variant discovered in October is as easily transferrable as none of the previously known variants, it said.
According to the available gene analyzes of the virus, it is spreading mainly in the USA and Europe and has already been detected in 29 countries. It is a subgroup of the omicron variant that has been circulating since the end of 2021. A risk analysis is in progress and will be published shortly. (with dpa)
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