If the Omicron variant as well as the BA2 sub-variant are already highly transmissible, scientists believe that another Omicron sub-variant is even more so. First detected in the UK, the XE subvariant could indeed be the most contagious strain of the virus. Here’s everything we know about this hybrid variant.
A subvariant combining mutations of BA1 and BA2
If the pandemic Covid-19 has been somewhat overshadowed by many geopolitical and social issues around the world, the disease is still there and the virus continues to progress. If the Omicron variant and its BA2 sub-variant were until now the most transmissible strains of the virus, other sub-variants have started to appear, and it is possible that they are even more contagious, especially with regard to the XE strain. According to the estimates of the British authoritiesthis hybrid variant is between 5 and 10% more contagious than the BA2 subvariant.
First detected in the UK in January, this subvariant is a combination of BA1 – Omicron’s original strain – and the BA2 subvariant. Indeed, such a phenomenon is quite possible, and it happens “ when a strain of SARS-CoV-2 picks up genetic material from another strain of SARS-CoV-2 “, explained the Dr Andrew Badleyexpert in infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinicaccording to a report by Time. Called recombinant variants, these hybrid strains of the virus therefore arise when two variants infect the same cell in the body at the same time.
Nothing to worry about right now
Note that the XE subline is not the only recombinant variant of SARS-CoV-2 discovered so far, and that there are already many hybrid variants, including a combination of the Delta variant and Omicron, called Deltacron. As for the XE hybrid variant, the latest research from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that it may be more transmissible than any previously detected Covid-19 strain. Thus, the WHO has classified this sub-lineage of Omicron in the list of variants of concern.
Either way, experts believe that too little information is available on this hybrid sub-lineage. In other words, this means that it is still too early to comment on it. Furthermore, at this stage, there is also no evidence that the XE subvariant causes more severe disease than the other strains. The same is true for sublineage resistance to vaccines. Thus, scientists continue to monitor this sublineage to determine if it poses a danger to public health.
If there is therefore nothing to report for the moment, the health authorities continue to recommend caution. In other words, they advise to continue to adopt barrier gestures, but also to be vaccinated. Until now, vaccines have indeed been shown to be more or less effective in preventing severe forms of the disease as well as hospitalizations, despite the immune escape observed with Omicron and its sub-variants. In addition to preventing the spread of the different existing strains of the virus, experts believe that these measures are also necessary to limit the chances of occurrence of new mutations of SARS-CoV-2.