In Mexico, 16 infections with the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, also referred to as the ‘Hellhound’ strain have been detected in the country so far. According to information provided by Oliva López Arellano, head of the Mexico City Ministry of Health, there are few cases and it is not a variant that predominates in the country, “Until now it does not produce more serious symptoms, so we have very few hospitalized and we continue taking samples, to have a monitoring and follow-up of the indicators every day”, assured Arellano.
Hellhound is the nickname given to the new sublineages of Ómicron, BQ.1, and BQ.1.1, strains that have been constantly increasing since the end of September, mainly in Europe and the US.
The National Institute of Genomic Medicine ( INMEGEN ) was the one that registered the first case of the “Hellhound” variant in a 36-year-old woman, a resident of Mexico City, the same data that was exposed through the platform GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data),
Since then, more infections have gradually appeared: two women in the state of Nuevo León, two men also from Mexico City, and another man and another woman in Baja California.
Likewise, 8 cases were registered but of the BQ.1.1 variant. in CDMX, 2 infections in Yucatan, and at the same time another two in the country’s capital, two women from the State of Mexico, and finally one in Chiapas.
Several experts have warned in recent weeks about its potential ability to evade antibodies against the virus. The name by which it became popular on social networks is “Hellhound” and refers to the dog of the god Hades, god of the dead and the underworld, also known as “Cancerbero” or “Cerbero”.
As researchers and scientists expected, the cases of infections are rising and according to ECDC estimates, more than 50% of COVID infections will be due to BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 by the beginning and middle of December. And by early 2023, they could account for more than 80% of cases.
