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The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning regarding a new Covid-19 type. It’s essentially a mutant strain known as XE. It’s thought to be a cross between two Omicron sub-variants, BA.1 and BA.2.
However, the new variety, XE, accounts for only a small percentage of cases at the time. It was discovered in the United Kingdom. It has demonstrated symptoms of community transmission.
The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2) was first found in the United Kingdom on January 19, and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since then, according to a WHO report issued earlier this week.
According to sources, early investigations reveal that the XE strain has a 10% growth rate advantage over the BA.2 sub-variant, which was previously the most contagious known strain of Covid-19. The BA.2 sub-variant is expanding around the world, and it now accounts for the vast majority of cases in the United States.
“Early estimates imply a 10% advantage in community growth rate over BA.2, but this discovery requires further validation,” the WHO stated in its report.
According to Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser of the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (HSA), there is insufficient information to draw judgments about XE’s transmissibility, severity, and vaccine effectiveness.
The WHO stated that it will continue to monitor and assess the public health risk associated with XE and will provide updates when new evidence becomes available. The WHO also stated that it is keeping an eye on another recombinant strain known as XD, which is a cross between Delta and Omicron. It has largely been discovered in France, Denmark, and Belgium.
