WHO latest information on the spread of variant Omicron XE

Sub-variant Omicron XE is more infectious than the currently dominant BA.2 variant, but the number of cases has remained relatively low so far.

Newsweek quoted Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Team Leader of the World Health Organization (WHO).WHO) said: “Based on initial analysis of available sequences, the XE variant has a slight infectivity advantage over BA.2, an increase in infectivity of about 10% rather than a 10-fold increase as a single one. number of previous reports”.

The XE variant has been making headlines for the past few days after being first spotted in the UK in mid-January. XE accounted for 1,179 cases of COVID-19 in the UK as of April 4, according to the latest government data.

XE is known as a recombinant, which means it is essentially a union of two separate viruses. Specifically, XE is a combination of the Omicron sub-variant BA.1 – which was the dominant Omicron earlier this year – and BA.2, which is the dominant strain today.

According to the UK’s Agency for Health Security, it is still uncertain how much more infectious XE is than BA.2.

XE is known to have appeared in the US, but the number of cases was negligible last week, according to Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. Ferrer told the Los Angeles Times that only three cases of XE have been reported in the county.

XE has also spread to Japan, according to the Japan Times. The variant was detected in a woman in her 30s who arrived at Narita Airport from America on March 26. This person is reported to be asymptomatic.