More than 600 cases of recombination of the omicron subtypes BA.1 and BA.2 have now been confirmed in the UK.
The number of new infections is falling every day, but the next variant of the coronavirus could already be in the starting blocks and heat up the infection process again: the new variant called “XE” was first detected in Great Britain in 19 January – and no more than 600 cases have since been confirmed.
That too – a new Corona variant appeared >>>
According to the WHO, a “recombinant variant”. More specifically, a “blend” of the omicron subtypes BA.1 and BA.2.
More infectious than BA.2
Whether the XE recombination is more transmissible than previous strains cannot be said at this point. However, initial data already pointed to a 9.8% higher growth rate compared to BA.2, confirms the British Health Authority (UKHSCA). In summary: According to the current state of knowledge, XE is even more infectious than BA.2.
In addition to Omikron’s XE variant, there are also two other recombination events. There are about 60 sequences of XM from Germany and the Netherlands and XN from Great Britain. However, there are no reports of increased infectivity for these recombinants.
There’s no reason to worry
Furthermore, the British health authority warns against jumping to conclusions about the XE variant – especially with regard to transferability. “As this estimate does not remain consistent as new data is added, it cannot yet be interpreted as an estimate of the growth advantage for recombination.” The UKHSCA adds: “The numbers of recombinant XE were too small to analyze by region.” More precise assumptions could only be made here later.
Susan Hopkins, senior adviser to the UKHSCA, underlined this: “So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about the transmissibility, severity or effectiveness of the vaccine”, she told the British newspaper “Sun”. Recombined variants, such as those of the omicron subtypes, are not uncommon and usually die “relatively quickly”.
The WHO also emphasized in a report that it was still the omicron variant: “XE counts as an omicron variant until clear differences in transmissibility, disease characteristics, including disease severity, are reported.”
kiky navigation account time05.04.2022, 19:50| Act: 05.04.2022, 20:20