Is the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant dangerous? 5 things you should know when the new strain of Covid reaches India

As the first case is detected in India, here are five things you should know about this new Covid strain - the XBB.1.5 variant.

Experts believe that the new Covid version XBB.1.5 is the "next big thing" on the scene and has the potential to trigger a significant surge globally. Many are wondering whether we should be concerned about the variant now that the first case has been detected in India. Here are five things you should know about this new Covid strain.

• A novel recombinant strain called XBB.1.5 is more immune evasive and more infectious than the BQ and XBB variations. The XBB1.5 outperformed the BQ1 version by 108%. But as more data became available, XBB1.5 continued to improve and is currently 120% faster. It expands more rapidly than Omicron BF.

• The BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 sub-variants are no longer the most commonly found coronavirus mutations, having been replaced by the XBB.1.5 omicron sub-variant. A recombinase of the two subvariants that evolved from the BA.2 omicron subvariant produced the XBB subvariant, from which XBB.1.5 descends. This indicates that it contains genetic material from two coronavirus variants that descended from the BA.2 subvariant.

• India is where the Omicron subtypes XBB and XBB.1 were originally discovered. Some researchers have suggested that XBB.1.5 may have mutated in New York, notably Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at The Scripps Research Institute.

• Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that the highly infectious Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant is now responsible for more than 40% of COVID-19 cases in the country, a doubling of the subvariant since last week.

• Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said in November that, while the new Covid booster shots, which target the original variant of the coronavirus as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, may provide some protection against the XBB subvariant, Can do, it would not be ideal.