A new strain of COVID-19, called XEC, has emerged in Europe and is spreading quickly across 27 countries, including the United States and France.
This new variant was first detected in Germany in June 2024, and it has now infected over 600 people globally.
Health experts predict that XEC could become the dominant variant worldwide in the next few months.
XEC is the latest variant to be closely watched by global health authorities as the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve.
According to experts, this variant is a recombinant type, meaning it came from a combination of two different strains of the virus.
These two strains, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, both evolved from a variant called JN.1, which was the dominant variant at the start of 2024.
The spread of XEC has been detected using a public database called GISAID. This database collects and tracks genetic sequences of viruses, including COVID-19.
Through this platform, researchers have been able to monitor the spread of XEC across different countries.
As of now, the United States has recorded the highest number of XEC cases, with 118 confirmed infections.
Germany has reported 92 cases, the UK 82, Canada 77, and Denmark 61.
However, experts believe that the real number of XEC infections may be much higher in countries that do not frequently test and sequence COVID-19 samples.
Despite its spread across Europe and North America, XEC has not yet been reported in any African country.
But experts warn that the strain could soon reach Africa and become the dominant COVID-19 variant worldwide in the near future.
One of the reasons XEC is spreading so rapidly is due to its unique mutations.
Health experts say that XEC has a higher growth advantage compared to other strains. This makes it more contagious and able to spread more easily from person to person.
Two key mutations give XEC this advantage. The first is the T22N mutation, which it inherited from the KS.1.1 variant. The second is the Q493E mutation from the KP.3.3 strain.
Both of these mutations are found in the spike protein of the virus.
The spike protein is what allows the virus to attach to human cells and begin the process of infection.
However, scientists are still studying these mutations to better understand how they impact the virus’s ability to spread and replicate.
Although XEC is spreading faster, it is still unclear whether it causes more severe illness compared to previous variants.
The COVID-19 virus has been evolving since it first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
Since then, many different variants have surfaced, each one marked by specific mutations in the virus’s genetic makeup.
These mutations allow the virus to adapt and sometimes become more contagious, or evade immunity from vaccines or past infections.
XEC is part of this ongoing evolution. It joins a list of variants that have emerged over the years, each creating its own wave of infections.
In Europe and North America, the dominant COVID-19 variant right now is KP.3.1.1. In Asia, the closely related KP.3.3 variant is more widespread.
The world is no stranger to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the virus first appeared in December 2019, it has spread to nearly every corner of the globe, leading to widespread illness, loss of life, and economic hardship.
In Nigeria alone, there have been more than 267,000 recorded cases of COVID-19, with a fatality rate of 1.2%.
The pandemic changed daily life in many countries, leading to lockdowns, travel bans, and economic downturns.
But it also led to a global effort to develop and distribute vaccines, which have since saved millions of lives.
