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What is Covid-19 XE Variant ?
The XE variant of coronavirus is a sub-variant of Omicron, which caused the third wave of Covid-19 in India in January 2022. Covid's XE variant is a cross between two strains of the Omicron variant, namely BA.1, which is the original strain, and BA.2, which is the more infectious strain.
According to the World Health Organization, the XE variant was first detected on January 19, 2022, in the UK, and till March-end, more than 600 cases of the variant were reported and confirmed.
As of April 12, 2022, the cases of Covid's XE variant have been detected in India's Gujarat and Maharashtra. Apart from India and the UK, Japan has also reported cases of the XE variant.
What does WHO say?
The WHO in a report on April 5 said that the XE variant, which is called a 'recombinant' of the Omicron, was being tracked.
The WHO said, “XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported."
“The SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to evolve. Given the current high level of transmission worldwide, it is likely that further variants, including recombinants, will continue to emerge. Recombination is common among coronaviruses and is regarded as an expected mutational event," the WHO stated in a report.
Symptoms of XE variant
While the symptoms of the new XE variant are significantly similar to the Omicron, it is comparatively milder. The XE variant has not been found more severe compared to other variants of Omicron. It also should be noted that there has been no significant rise in cases of XE variant in three months, since its detection.
Some reports say that the XE variant could be almost 10 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 variant of Omicron, however, this is not confirmed yet.