Although its terrifying name may raise alarm (it alludes to a giant squid, a sea monster that according to Scandinavian mythology hides in the depths of the ocean and occasionally rises to the surface to sink ships with its powerful tentacles), the truth is that the SARS-CoV-2 subvariant known as Kraken is now circulating in the archipelago, confirmed the head of Microbiology at Son Espases, Antonio Oliver yesterday.
“It is a variant of a subvariant of omicron” the expert began by recalling that the latter capitalized on the pandemic after it was initially detected in Botswana (Africa) at the beginning of November 2021 and that it achieved great notoriety due to the high number of infections it generated.
The subvariants of omicron were named sequentially from BA.1 to BA.5. Kraken that initially circulated in the United States would have been a derivative of BA.2, Oliver explained.
“It is an evolution of BA.2 that has initially appeared in the United States and is already circulating in Europe, Spain and the Balearic Islands,” said the chief microbiologist, revealing that its presence was detected in the last week of 2022.
Kraken now behind 2% to 3% of cases
On its degree of transmission within the archipelago, Oliver said that so far it is the cause of between 2% and 3% of all cases recorded, although he did not doubt that soon this variant will be responsible for a higher percentage of infections.
As recalled, Son Espases Microbiology has relaxed its vigilance against covid and performs genomic testing randomly with mild cases diagnosed in health centers that would not require hospitalization. In the same way, these tests in which the complete genome of the virus causing the infection is analyzed are being carried out in all cases in which the patient has required hospitalization. “It seems to be more contagious but it does not cause a more serious symptoms”, reassured Oliver revealing that they have not yet detected any of the mutations circulating in China and there is no doubt that Kraken will gain ground in the coming weeks despite the fact that at the moment, he reiterated, the respiratory virus that is circulating most is the flu virus.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.