The XEC variant was first identified in Germany in the summer
12:05, 07 Oct 2024Updated 12:06, 07 Oct 2024
A new Covid variant, XEC, initially detected in Germany this summer, has been making its way across Europe and has now reached UK shores. Signs of XEC are consistent with typical Covid indicators: fever, muscle pain, coughing, and tiredness, but health specialists project this variant could become the leading strain in the UK within months.
In a September statement about X variants, Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla noted: “At this juncture, the XEC variant appears to be the most likely one to get legs next.” Topol also observed that it is “definitely taking charge” as the forthcoming dominant variant, which may impact public health considerably.
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So far, health officials haven’t sounded any major alerts, yet signs of a “transmission advantage” exist for XEC when compared to previous strains, say Prof Francois Balloux from the Genetics Institute at UCL, reported in the Express. Speaking to the BBC, Prof Balloux said there’s potential for XEC to emerge as the primary subvariant of Covid during the winter of 2024/25, although he anticipates the existing vaccination regime should continue to protect the community.
Despite routine testing being much reduced since the pandemic’s peak, the Reach Data Unit has pinpointed infection clusters across the nation via data analysis. Carlisle in Cumbria, seems to be the current hotspot, showing a rate of 10.88 infections per 100,000 residents, as per their findings.
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