As of 5 April 2022, 1,125 cases of XE – a new combined sub-variant – had been identified in the United Kingdom, compared with 637 on 25 March.
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Japan has announced its first case of omicron XE – a new strain of Covid-19, first discovered in the UK – just as British cases of the sub-variant are on the rise.
The XE variant was found in a woman in her 30s who arrived at Narita International Airport in the United States on March 26. The woman, whose nationality was not immediately disclosed, was asymptomatic, Japan’s health ministry said Monday.
This is because the cases of the new strain have doubled in the UK, according to the latest statistics from the UK Health Security Agency.
As of 5 April, 1,125 XE cases had been identified in the United Kingdom, up from 637 on 25 March. few months.
XE has since been discovered in Thailand, India and Israel. It has been suggested that recent Israeli cases may have developed independently. The United States has not yet reported any cases of XE.
What is omicron XE?
XE is what is known as “recombinant”, a type of variant that can occur when an individual becomes infected with two or more variants at the same time, resulting in mixing of their genetic material in the patient’s body.
In the case of XE, it contains a mixture of the previously highly infectious strain omicron BA.1, which appeared in late 2021, and the newer stealth variant BA.2, currently the dominant variant in the United Kingdom.
Such recombinants are not uncommon, as they have occurred several times during the coronavirus pandemic. However, health experts say it is too early to draw conclusions about the severity of the new sub-option or its ability to avoid vaccines.
“We continue to monitor the cases of recombinant variant XE in the United Kingdom, which currently represents a very small proportion of cases,” said Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at UKHSA.
On Sunday, the United Kingdom reported 41,469 new Covid cases, with an average of 59,578 cases in seven days. As such, XE probably represents only a small percentage of Covid’s current total cases.
How worried should we be?
Early estimates suggest that XE may be more portable than earlier strains, and has so far demonstrated a slightly higher growth rate than its predecessor.
UKHSA data show that XE has a growth rate of 9.8% above BA.2, while the World Health Organization has so far set this figure at 10%.
However, experts say they expect it to lose weight, even when it spreads more easily. XE has not yet been declared a concern.
“XE appears to be moving in the same direction as BA.2, with increased transmission to BA.1, but is less severe,” Jennifer Horney, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware, told CNBC.
“This is the devil we know, so to speak. [It is] essentially moving the same deck of cards, ”added Mark Cameron, an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
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XE contains spikes and structural proteins from the same family of viruses, i. omicron, which means that at least theoretically it should behave as omicron did before. Therefore, existing vaccines and immunity must provide some level of protection against infection.
“Recombinants that contain spikes and structural proteins from a single virus (such as XE or XF) are more likely to act similarly to [their] parent virus, “wrote Tom Peacock, a virologist in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, in a thread of tweets in mid-March. XF refers to another recombinant discovered earlier in the UK in February.
However, other recombinants containing spikes and structural proteins from different families of viruses continue to emerge. This includes the XD subvariant, recently discovered in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, which contains delta structural proteins and omicron spike proteins and which Peacock described as “slightly more concerned”.
As such, all new phenomena must be closely monitored, especially in their early stages, to ensure that they do not grow into something more serious.
“The virus is still able to grow, recombine and develop a new branch of its family tree,” Cameron said.
“The key finding is that for each of these options and sub-options, the risk of hospitalization and death appears to be lower on average when vaccination levels are higher, indicating that vaccination, including the third dose, must be effective in reducing at risk of serious illness, “added Stephanie Silvera, a professor of public health at Moncler State University.
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