The new subvariant of "Omicron" - XBB.1, has been detected in Bulgaria, according to the data of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCDPD), published on the center's website. In the table for the results of sequenced samples for variants of COVID-19, it can be seen that the XBB.1 subvariant was detected in two of the samples, of patients from Plovdiv and from Sofia.

The "Omicron" variant was found in all samples.

The director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Prof. Iva Hristova, confirmed for BTA that it concerns the new subvariant of "Omicron", which is considered more infectious. She added, however, that there is no room for concern and that there is no evidence that this subvariant leads to a more severe course of the disease. According to her, no serious increase in cases of COVID-19 is expected in Bulgaria.

“We see from the USA and the UK that this variant is rapidly gaining momentum, but here the share is minimal. So far we have passed a number of subvariants, which were loaded with expectations that they would reach the top, but they did not,” added Prof. Hristova.

“So far, there are no proven new variants of COVID-19 causing a more severe illness”, Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev - advisor to the Metropolitan Municipality on health issues, who commented on the spread of the virus in China, pointed out to BTA yesterday. The variant currently in China is the same as the variant circulating in Europe and North America, he said.

"The variant is supposed to be more easily transmitted from person to person, secondly - there is so-called immune escape, and thirdly - there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease than the other Omicron variants," noted the professor.

A day ago, the Ministry of Health informed what are the recommendations of the EC for those traveling to or arriving from China in relation to COVID-19, noting that in recent weeks the number of cases of the disease has increased significantly.

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