Covid variant ‘Kraken’ spreading in Telangana, but nothing to worry: Experts
Deccan ChronicleHyderabad: With three cases of the 'Kraken' XBB.1.5 Covid variant detected in Telangana by genome sequencing, experts have allayed fears that the variant will not cause severe infections in Indians. According to the Covid bulletin released by the state's health department on Wednesday, five new cases were reported in the state, three of which were in Hyderabad. Dr Kiran Madhala, ICMR-certified researcher and HOD, critical care department, Nizamabad Government Hospital, believed that any variant has three key characteristics: transmissibility — how quickly it can spread; immune evasion — how well it can evade antibodies produced by previous infections or vaccines; and pathogenicity — how severe the infection will be. Indians should not be concerned about this variant since, like the Omicron variants, it may cause rapid spread of infections despite having received vaccinations or being infected previously, but it will cause only mild or asymptomatic infections in the vast majority of people.