This new variant is a recombinant strain, meaning it’s a mutant hybrid of the two previous versions Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2, which spread across the world when it first became a variant of concern. According to reports, the new variant is 10 percent more transmissible than the BA.2 subvariant, which is already the most contagious.
According to the WHO, BA.2, which is a subvariant of the Omicron strain, is the most dominant strain of the virus, being 86 percent of all sequenced cases attributed to it.
While XE only accounts for a small fraction of the cases, its extremely high transmissibility could mean that it becomes the most dominant strain in the near future.
Yesterday, the WHO issued a report outlining their initial findings of this potentially new variant of concern.
The report said: “The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the UK on January 19 and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since.
“Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation.”
The global health body noted that until they can detect “significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity”, XE will remain categorised as a part of the Omicron variant.
The report continued: “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.”
The WHO also raised concerns over the significant reduction in testing for COVID-19, as countries around the world reopen.
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Last week, the UK Health Security Agency also released a report reinforcing some of the WHO’s statements.
The UKHSA briefing said: “XE shows evidence of community transmission within England, although it is currently less >1% of total sequenced cases.
“Early growth rates for XE were not significantly different from BA.2, but using the most recent data up to 16 March 2022, XE has a growth rate 9.8% above that of BA.2.
“As this estimate has not remained consistent as new data have been added, it cannot yet be interpreted as an estimate of growth advantage for the recombinant.
“Numbers were too small for the XE recombinant to be analysed by region.”