India's First Case Of COVID XE Variant Reported In Mumbai: What We Know About This Highly Transmissible Virus

Mumbai reported India's first case of COVID variant XE was reported in Mumbai on Wednesday (April 6), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said in a media release. Furthermore, one case of the Kappa variant was also detected in the state. The patients with the new mutant of the novel virus do not have any severe symptoms so far.

The new variant may even be more contagious than any coronavirus strain, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated last week.

However, official sources from the union health ministry disagreed, saying the present evidence does not suggest that it is an XE variant.

"FASTQ files in respect of the sample, which is being said to be XE variant, were analysed in detail by genomic experts of INSACOG who have inferred that genomic constitution of this variant does not correlate with genomic picture of XE variant," an official was quoted as saying by NDTV.

This new COVID variant might also be more contagious than any previous strains, WHO confirmed last week.

COVID Variant XE Enters India

The patient from Mumbai who has tested positive for the XE variant is a 50-year-old costume designer who came back from South Africa in February. BMC also added that upon arrival, she tested COVID-19 positive on March 2.

This new strain of COVID-19 was first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) earlier this year. On April 3, Britain's health agency had stated that XE was first detected on January 19, and 637 cases of this variant have been reported across the country so far.

What Do We Know About The XE COVID Variant?

The XE variant is a "recombinant" mutation of BA'1 and BA.2 Omicron strains. Recombinant mutations emerge when multiple variants of Covid infect a patient. The variants combine their genetic material during replication and form a new mutation, experts in the UK claimed in a paper published in the British Medical Journal.

Earlier, the World Health Organisation had stated that the new COVID mutation XE seems to be 10 percent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron.

"Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 per cent as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation," the world health body had said.

Meanwhile, out of the 230 Mumbai patients whose test samples were sent for genome sequencing, 228 tested positive for the Omicron variant, one Kappa and one XE. Furthermore, 21 of the 230 patients had to be hospitalised, though none needed oxygen or intensive care. Out of this, 12 patients were unvaccinated, while nine had taken both vaccine shots.

Also Read: I&B Ministry Blocks 22 YouTube Channels For Spreading Fake Info On India- Netizens Debate Pros And Cons