New COVID-19 strain ‘XE’ discovered in UK; more transmissible than Omicron, says WHO

A new Covid strain has been discovered in the United Kingdom, as per the World Health Organization’s latest report.

According to the health agency, the new mutant, known as XE, which is likely to be more transmissible than any COVID-19 strain.

According to reports, BA’1 and BA.2 Omicron strains have been mutated to create XE, a “recombinant.” When a patient is infected with numerous Covid variants, recombinant mutations occur. According to UK specialists, the variations mix up their genetic material and generate a new mutation during replication.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has mentioned in the statement that the new mutation XE seems to be 10 per cent 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, China recorded roughly 104,000 domestic Covid infections in March, with Shanghai and northeastern Jilin province accounting for 90% of the new cases.