Canada confirms 21 detections of Kraken COVID-19 variant

A chemist tests contents of a drug (Putra.jpg/Shutterstock)

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has detected 21 cases of the XBB.1.5 COVID-19 variant, unofficially known as the Kraken strain, that’s taking hold in the US.

Kraken is a sub-variant of the Omicron strain, first detected in October 2022. PHAC characterizes Kraken cases as being “only detected sporadically” so far — as of December 11, the variant was detected in only 0.6% of samples tested.

The next nationwide update on strain prevalence is expected on January 6.

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The US CDC, which has posted more recent data on the breakdown of COVID-19 strains than Canada, reports that the Kraken variant was responsible for 40% of new COVID-19 cases between December 24 and 31 nationwide. Kraken is even more prevalent in the northeastern states, where it accounted for 75% of new cases last week.

The new variant binds more tightly to human ACE receptors, which may explain why it’s more contagious, according to Ashish Jha, the US-based White House COVID-19 response coordinator. He said it’s not yet known whether it’s more dangerous.

How much protection do vaccines or recent infections offer?

What we currently know:

If you had an infection before July OR

Your last vaccine was before bivalent update in September

Your protection against an XBB.1.5 infection is probably not that great

4/n

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@AshishKJha46) January 4, 2023

“As with all COVID-19 sub-lineages, PHAC continues to carefully monitor the spread of XBB,” Canada’s public health agency said. “XBB.1.5 is currently considered to be only detected sporadically. As data rolls in, growth rates can be more accurately estimated.”

PHAC has not yet dubbed Kraken a variant of concern.

As for its name, Kraken is one of several sub-variants following the trend of being named after mythical creatures. Other sub-variants include Centaurus, Gryphon, and Cerberus.