Ómicron’s new mutated variant, dubbed “XE,” could be the most highly transmissible strain of Covid to date, the WHO has warned

In many countries, the BA.2 variant, known as Omicron 2 or Stealthy, has become the dominant strain due to its ability to bypass PCR tests. In the US, for example, the Centers for Infectious Disease Control (CDC) announced this week that the variant is a 30% more transferrable than the original Ómicron (or BA.1) and that it has become dominant among new cases being sequenced in the United States.

As of this Thursday, BA.2 already accounts for 55% of all US cases, a figure much higher than the 7.4% of cases at the end of February.

This is a surprising increase for a variant that accounted for less than 1% of all sequences in this country in January. But just as the Americans and many countries, like Chile, they only fear a new wave thanks to this variant, there is already another recently discovered variant whose cases are increasing, which is feared to be even more transmissible.

In fact, according to a report by website Deadline.com, there are three new variants that have received designations. According to a recent report by the UK Health Services Agencythe two called XD and XF are combinations of Delta and BA.1 or so-called “Deltacron” strains that have been talked about for months but have not had a significant impact in any country.

XD is reported to be present in several European countries but has not been detected in the UK. XF caused a small wave of infections in this country, but it has not been recorded there since February 15. The variant of greatest concern, according to this report, Apparently it’s called XE.

You have been identified more than 600 cases of the variantaccording to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Photo: Reuters

Like the other two newcomers XE is a recombinant strain, meaning that it consists of two previously distinct variants. But it’s not a Deltacron mix. XE actually consists of that Original Omicron (BA.1) and the Newer omicron (BA.2).

This combination of infections means that the variant’s genetic material gets mixed up in the patient’s body. This is not uncommon and has actually happened several times during the pandemic.

The World Health Organization released a report on Thursday with some preliminary details of this new variant

“Recombinant XE was first detected in the UK on January 19 and since then more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed,” the WHO document reads. “Initial estimates indicate a benefit of community growth rate of 10% compared to BA.2, however this result requires further confirmation.”

According to the British Health Authority To date, 637 cases of XE, a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, have been registered.

Photo: AP

But according to the agency There is currently insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions about the growth advantage or other characteristics of this variant. We continue to routinely monitor all recombinants through our world-leading genome monitoring and sequencing capability.

Professor Susan Hopkins, UKHSA’s Chief Medical Adviser, said recombinant variants were not an uncommon occurrence, particularly when there are multiple variants in circulation and several have been identified in the course of the pandemic to date. As with other variant types, most will die fairly quickly.”

However, the agency said it will continue to monitor this new variant closely in case cases continue to rise and it becomes the new dominant strain in this country and the world.