COVID-19 XE variant has some experts worried it will spread to Japan
FILE PHOTO: Commuters wearing protective face masks are seen a day after the government announced the lifting of the state of emergency by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in large parts of the country including Fukuoka, in Fukuoka, southern Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo May 15, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
TOKYO — A novel coronavirus variant known as XE, which is believed to be more contagious than previous variants, has been detected in the United Kingdom among other countries, and there are concerns it might spread to Japan.
According to the World Health Organization, the XE variant is a recombinant of the Omicron subvariants prevalent in Japan: BA.1 from the sixth wave and BA.2, which is predominant in current infections. It was first detected in the United Kingdom on Jan. 19 this year, with about 600 confirmed cases of XE as of March 29.
XE appears to have arisen after genetic recombination of the virus in a person who was infected with both Omircon subvariants at the same time.
The new variant is said to be 10% more infectious than BA.2. Vaccine efficacy and the detailed nature of XE is not yet known, so further confirmation is needed, the WHO said.
“We don’t know the relation of the new variant to more serious symptoms,” Takaji Wakita, director general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and chair of a health ministry advisory panel, said April 6. “We need to keep conducting genomic analysis at quarantine.”
Article continues after this advertisementHiroshi Nishiura, a professor of theoretical epidemiology at Kyoto University, said “There is a high probability this variant will replace the Omicron variant when cross-border traffic becomes more active.”
Article continues after this advertisementIn Europe, more than 80 cases have been detected of the XD variant dubbed “deltacron” — a recombinant of the delta variant from the fifth wave in Japan and the Omicron BA.1 subvariant. The exact nature of XD is also unknown.
While neither deltacron nor XE have been detected in Japan, Tetsuya Mizutani, a professor of virology at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology said, “Japan should have a surveillance system in place to contain the spread from overseas quickly.”
RELATED STORIES
DOH does not expect Omicron XE to dodge efficacy of vaccines
Thailand records first case of ‘more contagious’ Omicron XE
DOH in talks with WHO after reported ‘Omicron XE’ case in Thailand
For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.
