XE variant of coronavirus has triggered fresh concerns about a new wave. Experts elaborate on common symptoms, disease severity, and its possible impact on children.
What is the XE variant?
“The XE variant of Coronavirus was first detected in England in mid-January and has been confirmed in more than 600 cases since then. Very limited cases have been reported in China and Thailand as well,” says Dr. Chetan Rao Vaddepally, Consultant Pulmonologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad.
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XE variant is 10% more transmissible and has a higher community transmission advantage of 1.1 compared to the original virus.
“XE variant is a recombinant variant of the SARS COV 2 virus. It means that the two variants (BA.1 and BA.2) have recombined and the mutation happened to let this variant come into the present. It is 10% more transmissible and has a higher community transmission advantage of 1.1 compared to the original virus,” says Dr. Charu Dutt Arora, Consultant Physician, and Infectious Disease Specialist, Head, Ameri Health, Asian Hospital, Faridabad.
Symptoms of XE variant
“So far, the symptoms reported with this variant remain that of the Omicron such as fatigue, lethargy, fever, headache, body pain, palpitations, and heart issues,” says Dr. Charu Dutt Arora, Consultant Physician, and Infectious Disease Specialist, Head, Ameri Health, Asian Hospital, Faridabad.
“There is no evidence so far to say that the symptoms of XE variant are different from the already existing variants,” says Dr. Rao.
The birth of the XE variant
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“Coronaviruses carry RNA as their genetic content. This inherently renders them more flexible and allows them to make new strains and variants easily. On the contrary, humans and all other life forms carry DNA as their genetic material, which is more stable,” Dr. Pavithra Venkatagopalan is the Director, Covid Task Force, Awareness, Rotary Club of Madras NextGen.
“As the virus is evolving and circulating in the world, there is still a need to continue masking, physical distancing, and hand hygiene along with on-time vaccination for all high-risk populations, like the elderly, children, and patients with other diseases,
What Does The WHO say?
Since the variant is not yet detected in other countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) is yet to label it a variant under investigation.
Recommended Actions For People
The most effective steps individuals can take to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus is to keep a physical distance of at least 1 meter from others; wear a well-fitting mask; open windows to improve ventilation; avoid poorly ventilated or crowded spaces; keep hands clean; cough or sneeze into a bent elbow or tissue, and get vaccinated when it’s their turn.
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