NEW COVID VARIANT. The XE variant is one of the recombinants of the Omicron BA.1+ BA.2 variant and is circulating worldwide. 10% more contagious than BA2, it makes the patient positive for 10 days. Case, danger, symptoms… The latest information on the XE variant of Covid and the situation in France.
[Mis à jour le 6 mai 2022 à 15h56] After the variants of Covid, recombinants. the XE variant is a “recombinant of the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants (Omicron)“explained the Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 5. It would be 10% more contagious than BA.2 and would contaminate longer infected patients: the PCR test would be positive for 10 days or more, much more than the usual 6, “which means that the virus has more than opportunities to spread more widely“ said Professor Denis Kinane, Scottish immunologist, to the newspaper The Mirror May 3. “There are 470 XE variant case sequences to April 19 between UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Israel” reports Public Health France April 20. In FranceXE is detected at “a very low level. What is this new XE variant ? What are the symptoms ? What is his transmission ? Is it dangerous ? Update on current knowledge.
Dr. @mvankerkhove talks about an Omicron recombinant called XE, its transmissibility, and how WHO monitors changes in the virus that causes #COVID19
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 6, 2022
Definition: what is the XE variant?
The XE variant was first detected on January 19, 2022 in England. It is “a recombinant of the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariantssaid World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.Recombinant variants are not an unusual occurrence, particularly when there are multiple variants in circulation, and several have been identified during the pandemic to date. As with other variant types, most will die fairly quickly” reassured Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to the British Health Security Agency (UKHSA). According to this agency, the majority of the virus genome (XE) belongs to BA.2.
Is the XE variant present in France?
In France“the BA.1/BA.2 XE recombinant is detected, but at a very low level : a sequence on the database on April 19″ reports Public Health France.
What are the symptoms of the XE variant?
Symptoms of the XE variant don’t seem to be different from those of other variants and recombinants of the coronavirus. In Israel, the two patients with the XE variant”presented mild symptoms, including fever, headache, and muscle achesand did not need specialized medical care” report the media Ha’aretz March 16.
In which countries has the XE variant been detected?
► In England. The first case of the XE variant was detected lon January 19, 2022. “He currently represents less than 1% of the total number of sequenced cases. As of March 22, there were 637 cases of XE variant in England“ according to the UK Health Security Agency.
► In Israel. Two people were detected as carriers of the combination of the BA.1 and BA.2 variants (the XE variant). “Both patients tested positive after undergoing a PCR test upon landing at Ben Gurion International Airport, and their samples were sequenced in Israel” reports the Haaretz newspaper.
► In Thailand. the April 2, a first positive case to the XE variant was detected according to the Bangkok Post.
► In India : The first indian case of the XE variant of the coronavirus was reported in Mumbai on April 6 according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
► To Canada : A case of XE variant has been discovered in Quebec, announced the Journal of Montreal the April 7.
► In New Zealand : the first case was formalized on Saturday April 23 in a press release from the New Zealand Ministry of Health.
► In Spain. The first cases of XE variants were detected on April 21. “According to information coming to us from the United Kingdom, it [le variant XE] has been progressing in recent weeks at a higher rate than that of BA.2“, says the Spanish Ministry of Health.
The XE variant is also detected in Denmark, Finland and Germany.
Is the XE variant more contagious than the others?
“The XE variant is 10% more contagious than the BA.2 sublineage but we are still studying it” informed Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, of the WHO on April 6. “This particular recombinant, XE, has shown variable growth rate and U.S can’t confirm yet if it has a real growth advantage [par rapport à BA.2]. So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity, or vaccine effectiveness“ nuanced Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to the British Health Security Agency.
Is the XE variant dangerous?
The XE variant would contaminate longer infected patients: the PCR test would be positive for 10 days or more, much more than the usual 6, “which means that the virus has more than opportunities to spread more widely“ said Professor Denis Kinane, Scottish immunologist on May 3. “There is no no worrying signal about XE. There is no particular seriousness associated to this new variant” indicated Étienne Simon-Lorière, head of the evolutionary genomics unit of RNA viruses, at the Pasteur Institute, on April 13.
Sources:
– Risk analysis related to emerging variants of Sars-CoV-2, April 20, 2022, Santé Publique France
-Variants of COVID-19 identified in the UK, UK Health Security Agency, 25 March 2022 / WHO.