A new variant of O'Mitchon is here again, this time called XE.
It is a recombinant variant of two Omicoron strains.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the virus has been diagnosed in 637 people in the UK, which spreads nearly 10% faster than the current BA.2 variant.
Where does this XE come from?
XE=BA.1+BA.2
The so-called recombinant variant is a mixture of the genetic material of the two strains to form a new version.
This can usually happen when the same person is infected with two or more coronaviruses.
On 19 January 2022, the XE recombinant variant was first discovered in the UK.
Its strains are derived from the Omikejong variant BA.1 and the Omikeron "sister" BA.2, respectively.
As of 22 March, a total of 763 XE sequences had been measured in the UK, of which 637 were cumulatively confirmed.
As can be seen from the above figure, the cases are mainly concentrated in densely populated areas such as London and eastern England, and there is a certain growth trend.
Although the data shows that the number of confirmed cases of XE is less than 1% of the total number of sequenced cases in the UK, the UK Health Security Agency has calculated from data from January 15 to March 15:
The average weekly growth rate of XE is 9.8% faster than BA.2.
You know, at the moment, BA.2 has swept many countries around the world, and the speed of transmission in the UK alone is about 75% faster than other Aumechon variants.
But UKHSA experts say recombinant variants are not uncommon when multiple variants are endemic, and most of them don't give the virus any advantage and will soon die out.
As a result, the UKHSA is now unable to determine whether XE has a real growth advantage due to factors such as insufficient data volume and instability, nor is there sufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the severity of XE or the effectiveness of the vaccine.
XE will continue to be closely monitored.
So, did it spread to other countries?
According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper on March 16, 2022, a couple in their 30s in the country was infected with an unknown form of the Omiljun virus.
The two patients, who came from an inbound flight and had been infected before arriving in Israel, had symptoms of fever, headache and muscle aches, but to a lesser extent.
Genetic sequencing showed that the variant combined the two strains of BA.1 and BA.2.
One More Thing
XE is not a monolithic, there are two recombinant variants of XD and XF, but they are recombined with Delta and BA.1 strains.
XF found 38 cases in the UK, but did not reappear since mid-February.
XD reported only 49 cases worldwide, most of which were concentrated in France and not found in the United Kingdom.