Covid 4th wave scare: 10 things you must know about Omicron XE

After the world recovered from the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was led by the Omicron variant of the virus, a new threat is seemingly looming over the globe. A new sub-variant of Covid-19 named the XE variant has not been detected by scientists.

Several countries in the world, from UK and Italy to China, are seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases. Though no case of the XE variant has been detected in India yet, many experts are speculating that the variant can spread in the country if proper precautions are not taken.

What is the XE variant of Covid-19? Here is all you need to know about it:

1. Covid-18 second mutant strain XE is reportedly a hybrid strain of two Omicron subvariants, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning about it.
2. According to early studies, the XE variant of the virus has a growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to the BA.2 variant.
3. Researchers from across the world have recently discovered three hybrid strains of the virus which are XD, XE, and XF strains. While the XD and XF variant is a combination of Delta and BA.1, the XE variant is a hybrid strain of two Omicron subvariants.
4. Issuing an alert regarding the same, WHO had said, “The XE recombinant was first detected in the United Kingdom on 19 January and >600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since. Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of ~10% as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation.”
5. Not many studies have been conducted regarding the XE variant yet, but WHO has said that they are closely monitoring the situation.

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        6. More than 600 cases of the XE variant have been detected across the globe so far, and WHO has described it as a “variant of concern”.
        7. Though the XE variant spreads faster than all other Covid-19 strains, it is not yet known if it is more deadly and does more damage than Omicron or Delta.
        8. The XE variant has been detected in the world recently, but experts are saying that it has been around since January this year.
        9. Indian experts have said that it is unlikely that the XE variant of Covid-19 will spread in the country, but Covid-19 precautions still need to be exercised.
       10. Researchers are still conducting studies to know more about the variant, and to decipher if it will be the cause of the fourth wave of Covid-19.