A new COVID variant called HV.1 has been spreading across US states. It is a highly contagious omicron subvariant, which was first reported in the late summer. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it rapidly overtook other Covid variants, which includes EG.5, back in October. In December, it accounted for 30 per cent of new COVID-19 infections among US citizens. Omicron began spreading in the US in November 2021. According to the CDC's SARS-CoV-2 lineage tree, HV.1 is a sublineage of omicron XBB.1.9.2 and a direct descendent of EG.5.
What are the symptoms of HV.1?
Similar to other COVID variants, the new HV.1 virus is highly contagious. The CDC added that often mutations enable new variants to spread more rapidly. While the list is not exhaustive, similar to other variants the symptoms of HV.1 include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
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What do experts say about HV.1?
William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said, “You can almost think of HV.1 as a grandchild of omicron. The COVID family of viruses likes to mutate. We’ve all learned that by now,” according to Today. “One of the characteristics of this entire omicron family is that they are highly transmissible.”
“Congestion, sore throat and dry cough seem to be the three most prominent symptoms right now,” Schaffner continued. “The virus seems to produce a kind of a chronic bronchitis, so that you can have a cough syndrome that lasts beyond the period where you’ve recovered from other symptoms.”
{{/usCountry}}“Congestion, sore throat and dry cough seem to be the three most prominent symptoms right now,” Schaffner continued. “The virus seems to produce a kind of a chronic bronchitis, so that you can have a cough syndrome that lasts beyond the period where you’ve recovered from other symptoms.”
{{/usCountry}}“By milder, we mean it doesn’t require hospitalization even though you can feel quite miserable for several days,” Schaffner added. “The only way to distinguish (COVID-19) from RSV and flu, both of which are now gaining steam, is by testing. We have treatments that can prevent more serious disease.”