The new sub-variant of Omicron, XBB.1.5, which is spreading rapidly in the United States, has been detected in South Africa, but scientists in the African country officially most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic assure that they do not fear a new "big wave" of infections.
"I do not expect a large wave of infections with hospitalizations in South Africa due to the high immunity of the population and previous waves of Omicron variants," South African virology star Tulio de Oliveira , who became famous for identifying the Beta and Omicron variants , said on Twitter on Friday.
South Africa , which detected the first case of Omicron in late 2021, has recorded more than four million cases of coronavirus and more than 102,500 deaths.
48% of the eligible population is vaccinated.
XBB.1.5, grandson of the Omicron family, is the "most transmissible sub-variant that has been detected so far," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week .
The sub-variant was detected on Friday in the southern African country in a sample taken at the end of December, according to Tulio de Oliveira. However, no "increase in the number of cases, hospitalizations, or deaths" has been observed at this stage.
XBB.1.5 is present in about thirty countries, particularly in Europe and the United States where it is on the verge of becoming dominant.
Its characteristics are not yet precisely known.
But according to initial data, a booster dose with a bivalent vaccine would notably produce neutralizing antibodies, according to the WHO.
