A new COVID variant, Omicron XE, is said to be more transmissible than Omicron itself and has been found in the United Kingdom since January and is now 760 confirmed cases.
A newly-discovered COVID variant, called Omicron XE, has been detected in the United Kingdom since January but is now threatening to sweep the country anew, according to the UK Health Security Agency which reported over 760 confirmed cases in England and a handful in Thailand and China.
Apparently it is a new form of Covid-19 – a combination of two separate variants XE and Omicron. XE is formed of a mix of BA.1 (responsible for the initial Omicron wave towards the end of 2021) and the highly infectious BA.2 strain.
Data gathered so far (by health officials and the World Health Organization) suggests it could be the fastest-spreading Covid variant yet. However, experts are cautioning that it's still too soon to say just how much of a risk the variant is, or could become, and so have pledged to 'continue to monitor' the situation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said: "Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to BA.2, however this finding requires further confirmation. XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported.
"WHO continues to closely monitor and assess the public health risk associated with recombinant variants, alongside other SARS-CoV-2 variants, and will provide updates as further evidence becomes available."
Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency), added,
"This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate and we cannot yet confirm whether it has a true growth advantage. So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness."
The symptoms of Omicron XE are: sore throat, aching muscles, stuffy nose, upset stomach and loose stools.
It is what’s known as a “recombinant,” meaning it contains a mix of the previously highly infectious omicron BA.1 strain, which emerged in late 2021, and the newer BA.2 variant, currently the U.K.’s dominant variant. Such recombinants are not uncommon, however health authorities said there is currently not enough evidence to draw conclusions on its transmissibility or severity.
XE contains a mix of the previously highly infectious omicron BA.1 strain, which emerged in late 2021, and the newer “stealth” BA.2 variant, currently the U.K.’s dominant variant.
Data on the new variant’s severity and ability to evade vaccines is not yet clear, though early estimates suggest it could be more transmissible than earlier strains.
UKHSA data shows XE has a growth rate of 9.8 percent above that of BA.2, while the World Health Organization has so far put that figure at 10 percent.
Health authorities have said they are continuing to monitor the situation.
“This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate and we cannot yet confirm whether it has a true growth advantage. So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness,” UKHSA’s chief medical advisor, professor Susan Hopkins, said.
The earliest confirmed XE case in Britain has a specimen date of Jan. 19 of this year, suggesting it could have been in circulation in the population for several months. It has also been detected beyond the U.K. in Thailand.
Surging cases
It comes as the UK faces a new surge in infections. Still, the XE variant currently accounts for less than 1 percent of total Covid cases that have undergone genomic sequencing there.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 4.9 million people in Britain, or 1 in 13, were infected with Covid as of March 26 — a record high since its survey began in April 2020. Hospitalizations, meanwhile, have risen more than 7% in the last week to over 16,500.
Older adults have proven particularly susceptible to the latest wave amid waning booster immunity and easing Covid restrictions.
According to Imperial College’s latest React study, an estimated 8.31 percent of the over-55 age group tested positive as of the end of March — nearly 20 times the average prevalence recorded since the survey started in May 2020. Cases among children and younger adults, meanwhile, appear to be plateauing.
The findings mark the 19th and final round of the study as Covid restrictions and surveillance systems are unwound in the U.K. and beyond.
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