The World – January 10, 2023

After health officials warned of the spread of the covid-19 epidemic

In the USA, the large spread of the xbp 5.1 variant, also called the "Kraken", the newest and most ferocious variant of the Omicron strain, led WHO experts to issue a warning about the spread of a possible wave of the virus in America.

However, the World Health Organization has announced that it does not expect the rise in covid-19 infections in China to significantly affect Europe.

Although the severity is not yet clear, Maria Van Kerkhove, who's technical officer for covid-19, stressed that although the severity is not yet clear, it is "the most transmissible form of Omicron to date".

This wave of infections could cause unrest amid an already historically bad respiratory virus season and continue to increase hospitalizations, especially among the elderly and those with immunodeficiency.

The CDC estimates so far show that the "xbp 5.1" variant accounted for 18.3% of cases for the week ending December 31, 2022, and 27.6% of serial cases for the week ending January 7.