COVID-19 ‘XE’ Variant: WHO Warns Against New, More Transmissible Virus Strain. Top Points to Know

New Delhi: As Covid-19 began to decline in some countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning against a new mutant ‘XE’ variant of Omicron that could be more contagious than any strain of coronavirus seen before. So why this warning now? Let’s take a look.Also read – Did you know that covid has a long-term effect on the brain? The study states

What is XE Stress?

The new variant is a recombinant strain, meaning it is a mutant hybrid of two earlier versions of the Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, which spread around the world when it first became a form of anxiety, Express.co reports. .uk Also read – Haryana relaxes Kovid guidelines, withdraws fines for not wearing masks in public places

More broadcastable than BA.2

According to reports, the new variant is 10 percent more transmissible than the BA.2 subvariant, which is already the most contagious. According to the WHO, BA.2, a subvariant of the omicron strain, is the most influential strain of the virus, accounting for 86 percent of all sequential cases attributed to it. Also read – China separates covid-positive children from parents in Shanghai to fight virus: report

The WHO recently released a report outlining their initial findings on this potentially new type of concern. Here are the top 5 points:

1. While XE is only responsible for a small fraction of cases, its extremely high transmissibility could mean that it will become the most influential strain in the near future.
2. “The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2) was first discovered in the UK on 19 January and since then less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed,” the report said.
3. “Early-day estimates suggest a benefit of 10 per cent community growth compared to BA.2, however, this finding needs further confirmation,” he added.
4. The World Health Organization notes that until they can detect “significant differences in infection and disease characteristics, including severity”, the XE will be classified as part of the Omicron variant.
5. “WHO continues to closely monitor and evaluate the public health risk associated with recombinant variants, along with other SARS-CoV-2 variants, and will provide updates as more evidence becomes available,” the report continued.

(With IANS inputs)