If you’ve been following the news of COVID, you’re likely well aware that there’s a new variant in town that’s relevant to the scientific community. This variant, known as XBB, immune evasion It accounts for more than 40% of infections in the United States to date, according to. data From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That proportion is expected to grow exponentially in the coming weeks as XBB beats out other omicron variants like BQ.1.look what happened new england: Within 3 weeks, the proportion of local cases caused by XBB jumped from 11% to 75%.
Since XBB is relatively new, scientists are still working to figure out if and how this variant behaves differently than other recent variants. Symptoms of XBB are expected to be on par with past omicron infections, but doctors say they see some problems becoming more common than others.
“Viruses usually mutate to become more contagious and less severe, which seems to be happening with this strain of coronavirus.” Doctor Henry ReddellThe head of the Infectious Diseases Unit at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, told The Huffington Post.
We asked infectious disease experts what they’re seeing in hospitals right now. Here’s what they said:
The most common XBB COVID symptoms appear to be congestion and body aches.
Limited data on XBB, but experts doubt symptoms Symptoms associated with XBB infection are similar to those experienced by people with COVID throughout 2022.
Having said that, evidence It shows that the symptom profile shifted slightly with each variant. For example, omicron caused more cold-like symptoms (fatigue, runny nose, sneezing, muscle aches, etc.), while delta and alpha more commonly caused anosmia (loss of smell) and aging (loss of taste). rice field.
So what’s in the XBB minutes? Julie Parsonette, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford Healthcare, told HuffPost. You may also expect to see other usual symptoms such as fever, chills, cough and sore throat.
Less common symptoms include loss of taste or smell and shortness of breath.
Dysmia and senescence anecdotally appear to be less common in XBB. Experts don’t yet believe that aging or the loss of smell will come back. “Since XBB is part of the Omicron Group, I would expect loss of taste or smell to be uncommon, but I haven’t seen the data yet. Thomas CampbellProfessor, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
One thing frontline doctors don’t often see is severe shortness of breath, Redell said. Patients these days rarely need supplemental oxygen, he added, and Redel said that more of his COVID patients, in addition to fevers and muscle aches, are suffering from runny noses, stuffy noses and sore throats. He said that he had confirmed that he was exhibiting typical upper respiratory tract symptoms.
Common symptoms have changed since the first iteration of coronavirus.
What causes symptoms to vary between subvariants?
Because so many people have been infected, and in some cases multiple times, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how symptoms are influenced by specific characteristics of the host and virus. personet is meImmunity plays a pretty big role.
“There’s likely a strong component to the underlying immunity, but there may also be differences in the ability of the virus to cause symptoms,” Personnett told The HuffPost.
According to Dr. Martin CrusakHe is an infectious disease specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Similar to Personet, each mutant and the way it infects cells also likely affects symptoms, Crusak said. They also differ in their ability to bind to key cellular targets,” he said.
Do the latest COVID shots prevent XBB infection?
preprint study We determined that XBB arose in the summer of 2022 from Japan when two subvariants of the BA.2 omicron lineage combined. In the process, scientists XBBMore I picked up a mutation that helped me circumvent the immunity conferred by both vaccination and previous infections.
XBB’s mutation It also facilitates attachment to cells and allows it to spread more efficiently than other versions of ocron.
“It appears to be more tightly bound, more contagious, and more immune evasive,” he said. Eric M. Poshura, Director of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.not sure if Mutations in them Personnet said it would change the clinical profile of the virus and the symptoms it causes.
The latest COVID shot, fine-tuned to target a new variant of omicron in 2022, Prevent XBB infectionsaid Personnett, given there are so many new infections in the community. Combined with the enormous amount of immunity it shows, it continues to protect many people from serious consequences. Together, this immunity helps dull the XBB wave, says Poeschla. Monoclonal antibodies are not very effective in he XBB, but Other treatments — including Paxlovid, remdesivir and molnupiravir — seem to be holding up.
Of course, there is always a real risk that the new coronavirus infection will be prolonged. This is a debilitating condition that continues even mild cases of coronavirus. Prolonged COVID can cause persistent fatigue, brain fog, respiratory problems, and more. T.We still have a lot to learn about XBB and the symptoms or potential complications it can cause.
But one thing we do know for sure. “Bivalent boosters offer some degree of protection against all Omicron-based variants and are highly recommended, especially for people over the age of 65 and those at other serious risks,” said Poeschla. .
Experts are still learning about COVID-19.The information in this article is known or available at the time of publication, but the guidance may change as scientists discover more about the virus. Check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention For the latest recommendations,