PETALING JAYA: With newer Covid-19 sub-lineages doing the rounds and driving up infections in countries such as Singapore and India, experts say Malaysia, too, must brace itself for a surge in cases, with particular concern over the mass gatherings usually seen during Hari Raya.
Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming of University Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine said a potential surge was possible during the festive season due to higher mobility as more people were travelling and mingling.“If the symptoms are mild, most people may treat it like the flu, not getting tested nor reported. If the number of severe cases, hospitalisation or death does not increase too much, there should be no need to worry so much,” she said.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Faculty specialist for public healthcare, Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, said the XBB variant that had been circulating for the past few months was the combination of the BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 sub-lineages.
“XBB is considered part of the Omicron variant as of October 2022. XBB has been detected in 35 countries, including the United States, Singapore, India, Australia and South Korea.
“XBB might be more transmissible, and better at evading efforts to stop them, such as through vaccines and treatments.
“Evidence suggests there might be a higher reinfection risk with XBB. In other words, even if you already had Covid-19, it’s possible you could get reinfected by the XBB variant,” she said.
So far, there is no evidence that XBB will pose a greater risk than other Omicron sub-variants.
Covid-19 vaccines can still offer protection against severe disease.
But Prof Moy said one’s immune response also plays a role in re-infection, whereby those with comorbidity, the elderly, the unvaccinated or those without complete vaccination may be at higher risk.
She said the proposed bivalent booster shots may provide sufficient protection against XBB.1.5 and other Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5, which is also known as Kraken.
“XBB.1.16 (also called Arcturus) was also recently detected and may give rise to some cases in some countries.
“XBB.1.16 is of the XBB lineage, related to the current dominant variant in the US being XBB.1.5.
“It has been identified in several countries with highest case counts such as India, followed by the United States, Brunei, Singapore and the United Kingdom. All these are Omicron variants,” she added.
“Arcturus is nearly 1.2 times as transmissible as Kraken, the most infectious sub-variant until now. It’s creating a lot of infections in India now,” she said.
The World Health Organisation said on Thursday that it is monitoring Arcturus, which is fuelling a recent surge of cases in India.
Association of Specialists in Private Medical Practice of Malaysia president Prof Datuk Dr Balwant Singh Gendeh said people with comorbidities, particularly those related to the respiratory system such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and smokers, may be more prone to hospitalisation compared to those without pre-existing health conditions.But he said this is not limited to lung condition alone, but also others such as diabetes and heart condition.
