According to the news published by Haber Global, the new variant named ‘XEC’ has caused concern in European countries and Russia. In addition to infectious diseases brought about by uncertain weather conditions, the new variant of Covid-19 has begun to spread rapidly in XEC.
Striking statements have been made about the ‘XEC’ virus, which is common in European countries and Russia. Experts say that many people complaining of flu symptoms may have caught the new variant.
MASK, DISTANCE, HYGIENE
The most frightening feature of the new variant is that it evades PCR tests and has no vaccine. The ‘XEC’ variant, which is spreading rapidly in Europe, is expected to become the most dominant variant in Turkey in a short time. Scientists, who warn about masks, distance, and hygiene, also emphasize that the virus can be fatal in patients with weak immune systems.
Infectious Diseases Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duran Tok spoke about the new variant XEC. Tok stated that the measures we took against Covid-19 are still valid today. Touching on important points in his speech, Tok said: “The XEC variant is considered a subtype of the Omicron variant. One of its most important features is that it can spread faster than other variants. We may encounter a slightly milder clinical picture, but ultimately, since it is a Covid-19 virus, it is always life-threatening.”
“IT POSES A SIGNIFICANT RISK IN TURKEY”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duran Tok made the following statements regarding the symptoms of the XEC variant: “Although the symptoms are similar to those of other variants, we may encounter high fever, sore throat, loss of taste and smell. Classically, muscle and joint pain and fatigue are also among the symptoms. Again, as with other variants, it can be detected with a PCR test. We cannot yet say that it can be detected 100 percent regarding the success rate. The fact that it is seen more in neighboring countries and that it is more contagious than other variants suggests that it poses a significant risk in Turkey as well.”
The XEC variant has not yet been officially seen in Turkey. However, Tok said that ‘saying it does not exist does not mean it does not exist’ and explained: “It is inevitable that a virus that spreads this quickly will come to Turkey, especially to Istanbul. We need to take our precautions accordingly. The fact that it has not been detected at the moment, and saying it officially ‘does not exist’ does not mean it does not exist in Turkey either,” he said.
“WE MUST TAKE PRECAUTIONS”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duran Tok, who stated that a negative opinion has been placed on vaccines and tests recently, made the following warnings: “A rapidly spreading virus is likely to create a serious health problem in Turkey for these reasons. Treatments are symptomatic treatment as in others. Protection methods are the same as other variants. Its rapid spread suggests that it is clinically milder. I cannot speak clearly since it is not in our country yet, but data from other countries shows this. We should still take our precautions.”
“WE DO NOT HAVE ANY VACCINES THAT WILL WORK ON THIS VARIANT”
Answering our questions about how the new variant will be treated, Infectious Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Bülent Ertuğrul made the following statements: “We know that this variant spreads faster than others and can escape the immune response faster. This is what needs to happen for a variant to become the dominant strain. Covid-19 is still ongoing. The biggest problem for us is that the risk group continues to be the risk group. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for this variant or other new variants in our country. There is no treatment method against this variant either. The vaccines we have used before are not valid. There are currently updated vaccines. They also work for these variants. However, we do not have these vaccines. The worst thing is that there are no drugs to treat those in the risk group.”