A new subvariant of COVID-19 called HV. 1 is gaining ground across Canada, but it has yet to be noted as being more contagious than previous variants, according to fitness experts.
HV.1, a subvariant of Omicron, is a lineage group showing consistent growth in the country, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Since August, the subvariant has risen from 2. 1 percent of reported cases to 34. 4 percent as of Oct. 29, PHAC said on its website. It also outperformed other variants that were more dominant in late spring and summer, such as XBB 1. 16 (dubbed the Arcturus variant).
“It’s here,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist, told Global News. “If you look at the most recent genomic studies done in Ontario, this is the most prevalent lineage. And that at the end of October. So now it’s much more than that.
In Ontario, HV.1 was the most prevalent lineage (24.4 per cent) from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28. Public Health Ontario said it is projected to increase to 29.9 per cent by Nov. 15.
Although HV. 1 is gaining traction, PHAC said Nov. 7, signs of COVID-19 activity levels are moderate to low across the country, with “most seeing solid or tapering trends. “COVID-19 activity levels are in Ontario.
Of all the COVID-19 strains prevalent in Canada, XBB (Omicron) sublineages accounted for 100 per cent of sequences over the past month, the PHAC said. This included HV. 1.
As HV. 1 spreads, fitness experts like Bogoch warn that it may still be too early to know if it is more contagious.
However, according to Bogoch, other people can expect the same, drawing parallels with reports from past winters.
“We’ve been through this many times,” Bopassch said. If other people need to know what the COVID scenario will look like this winter, just look back to last winter. We don’t have to go back as far as the terrible winters of 2020 and 2021, because we wouldn’t possibly have such an occasion.
HV. 1 is the Omicron XBB variant that is descending from EG. 5, according to PHAC.
The subvariant’s ability to potentially evade people’s immunity would possibly increase in numbers, though Bogoch said it’s probably no more transmissible than other variants.
“When something accounts for more than 25% of all cases, you see if it’s very different from a clinical standpoint. We probably would have noticed it before, not just in Ontario but around the world,” he said.
Currently, Canada refers to any descendant of Omicron as a “variant of concern”, unless specified otherwise.
According to the website, an attractive variant has the potential to update the existing circulating dominant lineage, but its effect on population-level outcomes is unknown or not expected to be particularly different from existing lineages.
The symptoms of HV. 1 largely mirror those of previous variants, such as malaise, fatigue, body aches, fever, cough, and runny nose. In more severe cases, other people may experience shortness of breath, which can lead to hospitalization, Bogoch said.
He added that it’s important that regardless of the strain, older people and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk and are more vulnerable to this infection.
One symptom that’s less common than before is loss of smell or taste, explained Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Centre for Infectious Diseases.
“Early in COVID, people would lose their sense of taste, their sense of smell. We’re not seeing that so much anymore. And it may well be that because you have background immunity to COVID, the symptom has been extinguished,” he said.
Conway also commented that while it’s “not very likely” that the HV. 1 strain will unexpectedly introduce a new set of symptoms, he cautioned that there’s no absolute certainty, noting that it’s still a new virus.
The new variants that have emerged, such as HV. 1. , are all connected to Omicron, Conway said.
“We don’t replace Greek letters and we don’t replace families,” he said. “Getting this XBB vaccine that exists that is targeted against some of the older Omicron variants, but it’s still an Omicron vaccine, will most likely boost immunity for most people, prevent severe disease, and significantly reduce network transmission. “
Conway stressed the importance of “booking your vaccine,” emphasizing that vaccination is the key to fighting emerging viruses well.
Bogoch agreed.
“We can expect this vaccine to pose the threat of more severe manifestations of the virus and the threat of hospitalization and death, especially in the most vulnerable,” he said.
COVID-19 cases may have stabilized or even decreased in some parts of Canada, Bogoch said, but since it’s only mid-November, “we have a lot of time ahead of us. “
“We will see COVID wax and wane and probably also have a rise in the spring as we’ve had in the last few years as well,” he said, adding this is why it’s never too late to get your updated COVID-19 vaccine.