The new Covid strain, “XEC,” is spreading like wildfire in Europe. Here are some key things you need to know about the coronavirus.
Covid-19 appears to be making a comeback with a new, more contagious variant, known as XEC, spreading rapidly across 15 countries. First detected in Germany in June, XEC is a combination of the KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 variants. It has reportedly already overtaken the previously dominant FliRT strain of the deadly virus.
Five key things you need to know about the new Covid strain
- The strain, belonging to the Omicron variant, is currently spreading “fairly rapidly” across Europe, North America and Asia.
- According to experts, the XEC virus has some new mutations that could facilitate its spread this fall. However, vaccines can help prevent severe cases.
- The strain reportedly causes symptoms similar to those experienced with common illnesses such as flu and colds.
- While most people will get better within a few weeks, some may take longer to recover and some may even require hospitalization.
- According to the UK’s NHS, the variant causes flu-like symptoms including high fever or chills, new and continuous cough, loss or change in sense of smell or taste, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, among others.
So far, around 550 cases have been reported from 27 countries, including Poland, Norway, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Portugal, the United States and China.
“At this point, the XEC variant appears to be the one most likely to thrive,” said Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, US, in a recent publication in X.
In a post on X, Melbourne-based data expert Mike Honey said the XEC strain is “the next likely challenger to the currently dominant variants.”
Honey noted that XEC has already outperformed other variants such as the FLiRT, FLuQU and DEFLuQE strains.
