A new COVID strain ‘XE’ has been discovered in the United Kingdom, as per the World Health Organization’s newest report.
According to the health agency, the new mutant, known as XE, may be more transmissible than any COVID-19 strain.
Moreover, BA’1 and BA.2 Omicron strains have been mutated to create XE, which is a “recombinant.” When a patient is infected with numerous COVID-19 variants, recombinant mutations occur. During replication, the variations mix up their genetic material and generate a new mutation, according to UK specialists.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has mentioned in the statement that the new mutation XE seems to be 10 percent more contagious than the BA.2 sub-variant of COVID Omicron.
Along with this, the global health body has further added, “Early estimations show a 10% community growth rate advantage over subvariant BA.2, according to early calculations, however, this finding requires further confirmation.”
In addition, the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant is quickly spreading over the world. According to the latest poll by the Office for National Statistics, around 4.9 million persons in the UK had Covid-19 in the week ending March 26, up 600,000 from the previous week.
On the other hand, the BA.2 variation has also been linked to an increase in Covid cases in the United States and China.
Furthermore, in March, China recorded roughly 104,000 domestic Covid infections, with Shanghai and northeastern Jilin province accounting for 90% of the new cases.
