XE Variant of Coronavirus: 'Highly Transmissible' Omicron Strain Evades Detection | Know the Details

Known to be more transmissible than previous strains of the novel coronavirus, the new Omicron strain has set alarm bells ringing across the world. With China battling its biggest Covid-19 wave, fuelled by Omicron, since the initial outbreak in Wuhan in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it was too early for other countries to do away with surveillance measures.

In India, the ministry of home affairs decided to end all Covid containment measures from March 31. Following this, several states removed all restrictions in view of a dip in daily cases. Some states like Maharashtra and West Bengal have done away with the mask mandate, while Delhi has made masks optional in public places by removing the penalty for not wearing them. The central government, however, has continued to advise people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour such as mask use in public, physical distancing and maintaining hand hygiene.

Here’s all you need to know about the new Omicron strain:

1. Stealth mode onAccording to the UK Health Security Agency, the new Omicron strain is being called a stealth variant because of its ability to evade detection.
2. A recombinant variantThe new strain of the Omicron variant appears to be more transmissible than any previous strains. In its latest update, the WHO said the new strain is known as the XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2). XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported. A recombinant strain means that it is a mutant hybrid of the two previous versions of the Omicron variant, BA.1 and BA.2.
3. First detected in UKThe new strain was first detected in the UK on January 19 and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since then.
4. Highly transmissibleEarly-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 per cent as compared to BA.2. This finding, however, requires further confirmation. The BA.2 has been deemed to be the most contagious of all the variants so far.
5. Is it the dominant strain?According to the WHO, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is still the most dominant as 86 per cent of all sequenced cases are being attributed to it. The XE recombinant only accounts for a small fraction of the cases, but its extremely high transmissibility could mean that it becomes the most dominant strain in the near future.

(With agency inputs)

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