Mumbai case not XE coronavirus variant, say officials: 5 things to know

New Delhi, Apr 06: The first case of XE, a more transmissible COVID-19 variant, was found in Mumbai on Wednesday. However, reports said the genome sequencing of the patient's sample does not indicate the presence of the XE variant.

A 50-year-old woman, fully vaccinated woman who arrived from South Africa in February was found to have this Omicron sub-variant, according to the BMC. However, Health Ministry officials denounced the presence of the XE variant in the patient's sample.

Mumbai case not XE coronavirus 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 the genomic constitution of this variant does not correlate with the genomic picture of 'XE' variant,: news agency ANI reported quoting ministry officials.

"Present evidence doesn't suggest that it's 'XE' variant. FastQ files of the sample, being said to be 'XE' variant was analysed by INSACOG genomic experts who inferred that genomic constitution of this variant doesn't correlate with genomic picture of 'XE' variant," he said.

"Present evidence does not suggest that it is 'XE' variant of Covid19," he added.

What did BMC say?

The woman, who is a costume designer, was a member of a film shooting crew. She arrived from South Africa on February 10, 2022. "She did not have any travel history prior to that. She had been vaccinated with both doses of the COMIRNATY vaccine," the official said, adding that she suffered from no co-morbidities.

On arrival in India she tested negative for COVID-19, but on March 2, she tested positive during routine testing. In the subsequent test, she tested negative. She had been quarantined in a hotel rook during this period. As to whether it was the first case of the XE variant detected in India, BMC officials said they could not confirm this.

XE variant of COVID-19 will be most contagious: WHO

The World Health Organisation has said that a new mutant of COVID-19 known as XE appears to be ten per cent more transmission that the Omicron variant.

The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was the most contagious strain of COVID-19. The Omicron variant now spreading to different regions of the world is accounting for a majority of the new cases in US.

What is XE variant of COVID-19

The XE variant is a mutant hybrid of the two versions of Omicron-BA.1 and BA.2. Currently the new variant is found in very few regions. The XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the UK on January 19 and less than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since, WHO said in a report.