The Omicron BF.7 and XBB.1.5 sub-variants are spreading rapidly in China and the United States, respectively, raising concerns around the world. Should we fear its spread in France, a country where BQ.1.1 is the majority?
If it’s the Omicron subline BQ.1.1 which is the most common variant in France, abroad these are BF.7 and XBB.1.5 that dominate in China and the United States. Are these available in France? Are they likely to spread and become the majority? Answer.
Remarkable discretion for XBB.1.5 in France
the XBB.1.5 is a relative of the omicron XBB variant, This is a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants, according to a US health official. In the United States, this new subvariant is displacing the dominant (and common with those in France) variants and is gradually becoming the majority, reports Le Parisien.
Also read:
Covid: What is this new Omicron XBB.1.5 variant spreading in the United States and should it be a cause for concern?
Around 40% of confirmed Covid cases in the United States are caused by this strain, up from 20% a week ago, NBCNews specifies. In the Northeast, about 75% of confirmed cases would come from this new strain.
Finally, “there are currently insufficient data available to assess a change in the severity of infection associated with this variant.”
More info in this thread \ud83d\udc47
5/5 https://t.co/gv9mJshEh2
— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) January 5, 2023
In France, as of January 2, only 15 cases of XBB.1.5 have been identified by sequencingsays Étienne Simon-Lorière, head of the department for evolutionary RNA virus genomics at the Institut Pasteur, to Nicolas Berrod, Journalist specialized in Paris.
But will it be able to take more space in France? For Samuel Alizon, Director of Research at the CNRS and specialist in evolutionary biology, interviewed by our colleagues from Île-de-France: “It is certain that XBB.1.5 will make progress“. While for Étienne Simon-Lorière “it is quite difficult to predict. It will take a sufficient number of successful introductions of the virus for it to have a chance to compete with the diversity of lineages already in place.”
BF.7 back in France?
“Nowadays, The claim that BF.7 has the majority in China is not based on hard data” Nico Berrod stated on December 28, when the data was suspended by Xi Jin Ping’s government three days earlier.The subvariants Omicron BA.5.2 and BF.7 together account for more than 97% of all local infections‘ the WHO said on Wednesday.
Also read:
Covid in China: should the surge in cases make us fear the emergence of a new variant?
In France, according to the Cov-Spectrum tool developed by Gisaid (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data), which groups data on viral strains at an international level, the share of BF.7 in sequencing in France would increase again. On October 17, this variant accounted for 10.78% of sequences in France, then only 0.99% on December 12 before rising 14.29%, December 26.
BF.7 contribution to the sequencing carried out in France since June 2022. COV SPECTRUM SCREEN CAPTURE
Also read:
Covid: where is BF.7 compared to other variants in France and abroad?