Telangana reports 3 cases of ‘Kraken’ XBB15

A new Covid strain nicknamed 'the Kraken' is sparking concern around the world.

XBB.1.5, a subvariant of Omicron, is already dominant in parts of the US. 

Now it has started to sweep across the UK and Telangana.

XBB.1.5 is a mutated version of Omicron XBB, a strain that was first detected in India in August. 

Concern about XBB.1.5 is largely based on how it is currently surging in the US.

But it has also already been spotted in Britain and other countries around the globe.

Experts are concerned XBB.1.5's rapid rise in the US could be caused by mutations that help it to better infect people and dodge protection from vaccination and prior infections.

The XBB15 Covid super variant, which is behind the recent wave of Covid infections across the United States and United Kingdom, has made its way to Telangana.

The latest genomic sequencing data by Hyderabad-based genetic laboratories attached to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) have reported 3 XBB15 positive cases in Telangana.

Between December and January 2, a total of six XBB14 infections have been reported in India out of which three were from Telangana, two from Maharashtra and one XBB15 infection was from Gujarat.

- Input from Agencies