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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
January 24, 2023
Already widely present in England, this new strain of Omicron seems to cause a more serious form of the disease. Update on the new Orthos variant with Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
If in France the variant Omicron BA.5 is still dominant, a newcomer could soon overshadow it. This is the CH.1.1 variant, nicknamed Orthos.
Orthos spread rapidly in the UK
For the record, Orthos is a two-headed dog from Greek mythology. A nickname that suits this new strain well since it is both a sub-variant of Omicron and a mutation of Delta.
If in France Orthos has not yet been detected, it has however developed well in the United Kingdom – where it was spotted for the first time in November 2022.
So much so that it currently represents one in five cases in the country – or 23.3% of cases, according to the Spanish media. 20 minutes.
The variant was also detected in Spain and in India.
The sub-variant could “become majority”
For the British health authorities, there is no doubt: this new strain could become the majority and replace BQ.1.
If the symptoms seem to be similar to those of the other variants – runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, sore throat – it could on the other hand penetrate more easily into our cells and therefore cause a more serious infection.
CH.1.1 could also bypass antibodies generated in response to vaccination or prior infection. So, should we be worried about it?
No, according to Dr. Kierzek.
“It is a variant which certainly seems more virulent, but which is also less contagious. The question that can be asked concerns rather the immune escape. Can Orthos erode immunity gained from the vaccine or previous infections? We’ll find out soon“.
Another reassuring point: if Orthos is the subject of epidemiological surveillance, it has not yet been added to the list of “worrying” variants by the World Health Organization (WHO).