The first case of the XE variant of corona came to the UK. Now, less than a thousand cases of the deadly coronavirus are being registered across the country, after which all the restrictions related to corona have ended in the country after two years. However, it is still necessary to use a face mask. The XE variant of Corona has raised concerns amidst the decreasing cases of the corona. A woman costume designer of South African origin in Mumbai has become the first person in India to be infected with the XE variant, although scientific studies have not found any evidence about this so far. The first case of the XE form came in Britain. Know what is the XE variant of Corona, how dangerous it is, and what are its symptoms.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that the woman had come to India from South Africa in late February and was confirmed to be infected with the XE variant in March. The 50-year-old costume designer has got both doses of the vaccine. However, official sources clarified that the current evidence does not indicate that it is a case of XE nature. Experts from the Indian SARS Cov-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) analyzed the ‘FastQ file’ of the sample and inferred that the genomic structure of the virus that infects a Mumbai woman does not match the genomic structure of the XE variant.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the new XE variant was first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) on 19 January and since then hundreds of reports and confirmations have been made. It is a mutant hybrid of two other Omicron variants ba.1 and ba.2 and is responsible for the cases spreading globally. The WHO has said that the new mutant is about 10 percent more transmissible than Omicron’s ba.2 sub-variant, which can be more transmissible than either strain. The new developments have raised concerns in health circles, as Maharashtra is on a recovery track and is in the final stages of the ongoing third wave that started in December 2021. Although there are currently few cases of XE worldwide, its extremely high transmission potential could mean that it becomes the most dominant strain shortly.
According to the UK’s Health Protection Agency, XE causes symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, and sore throat, unlike the original strain of the virus, as the original strain usually causes fever and cough, along with loss of taste and smell. As of 22 March, 637 cases of XE had been detected in England.
The XE variant has also been detected in Thailand and New Zealand. The WHO has said that more data needs to be considered before saying anything about the mutation. According to a report by Forbes, more data is needed to make a complete confirmation, according to Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser to the UKHSA. Hopkins said there is still insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions on the infection, its severity, or the effectiveness of the vaccine
