Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has accumulated several variants that have, to a greater or lesser extent, undermined the full recovery of several countries.

Several alterations of the coronavirus have become known over time, and the latest of these has a curious name: 'Hellhound'.

The origin of this nickname that has emerged on social networks is due to the experts' forecasts about this variant.

That is why some users have baptized it as 'hellhound', referring to the pet of Hades, the god of Greek mythology who guards the gates of the underworld.

Symptoms of the 'Hellhound' COVID variant

Symptoms of this new BQ.1 variant and its subvariants produce the following health problems:

• Sore throat
• Cough
• General malaise
• Aphonia
• Diarrhoea
• Runny nose

How the 'hellhound' variant will affect the disease

Cornelius Roemer, a researcher at the University of Basel, warned on Twitter that B.Q.1.1.1, linked to the omicron variant, will be in the majority at the end of November and beginning of December.

According to the data, it looks like it could be 10 percent more contagious, all in addition to the fact that respiratory infections and viruses are on the rise in autumn.

"It is estimated that they could be the dominant ones from the end of this month or the beginning of December," said Carolina Darias, the Spanish health minister.

"They are growing at a rapid pace in several European countries," Darias added a few days ago. According to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), this variant is expected to exceed 50 percent in Europe in the coming weeks.

As with the latest variants, the ECDC explains that it has a greater capacity to escape the human immune response.

However, for the moment, no data has been found to demonstrate a higher incidence or severity in the cases detected. This is why Darias has already advised the population to be vaccinated with doses adapted to all the variants that have appeared.