English हिन्दी
Connect with us

Health

Explainer: How severe is XE variant of coronavirus? Can India expect fourth wave of Covid-19?

The first case of the Omicron XE variant has been reported in Gujarat’s Vadodara. What are the symptoms of the XE variant and how severe it is?

Published

3 years ago

on

India reports over 20k fresh Covid-19 cases, 49 fatalities in a single day, active cases rise to 1.43 lakh

Just as we begin to breathe a sigh of relief with the dip in Covid-19 cases, a new coronavirus variant has emerged that is highly transmissible and more contagious than the previous ones. When the country is reporting cases in three digits, detection of the XE variant in Gujarat has sparked concerns for the fourth wave.

The first case of the Omicron XE variant has been reported in Gujarat’s Vadodara. The infected person is a 67-years-old male, who along with his wife had travelled to Vadodara from Mumbai and was tested positive for coronavirus on March 12. Since he was from outside the state, his sample was sent for genome sequencing and the results revealed that this was a case of Omicron XE variant, said doctors. One case of XM variant has also been detected in the state

Earlier, there were reports that a 50-year-old woman with a travel history to South Africa may have been infected with the newly-discovered coronavirus variant XE but later health ministry declined the report.

Read Also: Covid-19 booster dose: Where can you get it? What price? All you need to know

What is the XE variant?

The Omicron variant has two significant sub-variants, BA.1 and BA.2, which are responsible for almost 90% of the infections discovered this year. A BA.3 sub-variant exists as well, but it is less common. Even though BA.2 was discovered to be significantly more transmissible than BA.1, it was not proven to be more dangerous.

The XE variation is referred to as recombinant. This suggests it has both BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron mutations. This was initially identified in January in the United Kingdom, and over 600 examples of XE have been discovered in other countries.

It’s not rare to come across recombinant variations. Variants with mutations that are similar to two or more known variants are common. In fact, variations with the Delta and Omicron mutations have been discovered.

Severity of XE variant

On April 2, the World Health Organization stated that XE appears to be more transmissible than previous coronavirus strains. XE mutation appears to be 10 percent more contagious than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, said WHO.

The emergence of the XE variant, on the other hand, does not necessarily indicate a new wave in the country. It’s similar to the Omicron variation at the moment. The threat from the XE variety to the Indian population is now low unless it develops special abilities to infect, overcome immunity, or create a more severe type of disease.

Can India expect fourth Covid-19 wave?

A team from IIT Kanpur predicted that the next wave would hit India in June, last for four months, and peak in August. The same research team had previously predicted that the third wave of the pandemic in India would peak by February 3, 2022.

There is no scientific, epidemiological, or virological reason to predict a fourth Covid wave, but nobody can predict that it will not happen. We can say the probability is extremely low but we’ve to be vigilant, said Dr T Jacob John, Virologist, and former professor, CMC Vellore.

Symptoms of XE variant

Symptoms and severity of the Covid-19 virus vary from person to person depending on vaccination status and immunity gained from prior infections.

Read Also: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Office’s Twitter account hacked, DP changed to ape, restored later

Common symptoms
Fever, sore throat, scratchy throat, cough and cold, skin irritation and discolouration, gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, headache, dizziness, etc.

Some of the symptoms of severe diseases are heart ailment, palpitation, and sometimes the virus can also cause severe nerve diseases.

Loss of smell and taste which is the most common symptom of coronavirus are rarely reported in people affected with the new Omicron variant.

Where was the XE variant first detected?

Since the first detection of XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2) in the UK on January 19, more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed. The XE variant has also been detected in Thailand and New Zealand.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Office’s Twitter account hacked, DP changed to ape, restored later

CJI NV Ramana says there is new trend of government maligning judges, calls it unfortunate

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Health

India registers 313 new Covid cases, active cases reach 2,041, 3 deaths recorded in last 24 hours

The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a rise in the hospitalization and mortality.

Published

10 months ago

on

January 20, 2024

By

India saw a single-day rise of 313 new Covid cases, while the active caseload has declined to 2,041, the health ministry said on Saturday.  Three deaths: two from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra were reported in the last 24 hours.

According to the ministry website, the number of active cases in the country stood at 2,331 on Friday. The number of cases of Covid had dropped to double digits till December 5, but it began to start increasing after the emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

 According to reports after December 5, the highest single day rise of 841new cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which is 0.2% of the peak cases reported in May 2021. Of the total active cases, a large majority of these (around 92%) are recovering under home isolation.

The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in the new cases nor a rise in the hospitalization and mortality. India has witnessed three waves of Covid in the past with its peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported during the delta wave in April June 2021.

 At its peak, 414,188 new cases and 3915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021. Since the pandemic started in early 2020, there have have been 4.5 crore people who have got infected and this has resulted in the death of 5.3 lakh persons in a total time span of four years.

According to the ministry data, the total number of persons who have recuperated from the disease are 4.4 crore with total recovery rate recorded is 98.81%. A total number of 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in India so far.  

Continue Reading

Health

India registers 605 new COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths in last 24 hours

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has gone up to 4,44,81,341, an increase of 648 since Sunday morning. In Kerala a 70 year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 81year-old male with T2DM and HTN, and in Karnataka, a 48 year old male with CA and TB died, while one person in Tripura succumbed to COVID.

Published

11 months ago

on

January 8, 2024

By

India recorded 605 fresh COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours. The active cases have increased to 4002, while India’s overall COVID case tally stands at over 4.5 crore (4,50,18,792). The death toll was recorded at 5,33,396 with four new deaths – two from Kerala and one each in Karnataka and Tripura – reported in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8am stated.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has gone up to 4,44,81,341, an increase of 648 since Sunday morning. In Kerala a 70 year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 81year-old male with T2DM and HTN, and in Karnataka, a 48 year old male with CA and TB died, while one person in Tripura succumbed to COVID.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reported that 11,838 doses of the vaccine had been administered in the country till January 7. The data is a compilation of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (National Centre for Disease Control), media bulletins and websites of various states at 8am on January 4.

As the winter season sets in, health experts are highlighting a sudden surge in viral infections, influenza, and COVID-19 cases. Dr Nikhil Modi, a senior pulmonologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, pointed out that the decrease in temperature leads to increase in moisture in the air, low wind speed and also causes an increase in pollution levels. This contributes highly to various infections.

Due to the decrease in temperature the fog combines with the pollution in the air which further leads to the formation of smog. This condition of the atmosphere can cause different types of infections and difficulty in breathing. Both the state and the central government are keeping a close watch on the new Omicron Subvariant JN.1. J.N.1 is a Variant of Interest (VOI) which is under intense scientific scrutiny.   

Continue Reading

Health

India records 774 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths in 24 hours

The number of daily cases was in double digits till December 5 but it started to rise again amid cold weather conditions and after the emergence of new Covid-19 variant, JN.1.

Published

11 months ago

on

January 6, 2024

By

India on Saturday had a single-day rise of 774 Covid cases while the number of active cases stood at 4,187, the Union health ministry said. As many as two deaths – one each from Tamil Nadu and Gujarat were reported in a span of 24 hours. Of the 4,187 active cases, the majority (over 92%) are recovering under home isolation.

The number of daily cases was in double digits till December 5 but it started to rise again amid cold weather conditions and after the emergence of new Covid-19 variant, JN.1. The central government has asked the state government and union territories to maintain a constant vigil amid an upward trend in the number of Covid-cases and the detection of the JN.1 sub variant in the country.

According to reports after December 5, the highest single-day rise of 841 cases was reported on December 31, 2023, which was 0.2% of the peak cases reported in May 2021. A health official said that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in new cases nor a surge in hospitalisation and mortality in the country.

The Karnataka government has made the Covid test mandatory for those with Influenza like illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI). Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said more than 7000 tests are being done every day and the COVID positivity rate is 3.82%. The positivity rate in the state has not come down yet.

He said those with symptoms are being monitored and tested. Those who are in isolation at home have been told to take extra care. He added it is expected that the trend of decreasing Covid cases may start next week in Karnataka. India has witnessed three waves of Covid-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily cases and deaths being reported during the Delta wave during April-June 2021. At its peak 4,14,188 cases and 3915 deaths were reported on May 7, 2021.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com