The XD variant of Covid-19 has been detected in several dozen people in France. Public Health France has provided an update on the circulation in France of this recombinant of Omicron and Delta. XD’s surveillance has been reinforced since February 16.
The Covid XD recombinant remains under surveillance. In its point of analysis on the risks of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, Public Health France provides a new update on the information available on this new strain of the virus.
The health authorities point out that this recombinant of the Oimcron and Delta variant remains the subject of heightened surveillance in France. After the discovery of the XD variant, an “extensive analysis (…) was carried out in France in order to characterize this new variant and assess its impact on public health”.
Vaccine antibodies also effective
In the first conclusions, the scientists evoke an effectiveness of the monoclonal antibodies or resulting from the vaccination, similar to Omicron. Neutralization would therefore be just as effective. However, with mice, the experts realized that the XD variant might be more pathogenic and would replicate better within the upper airways.
Good news though: XD would be as transmissible, no more no less, than the previous strains. In any case, this is what its low detection in France suggests. Indeed, its detection has “never exceeded 0.1% during the Flash surveys of the year 2022 and does not seem to be increasing.” 74 sequences have been identified since its detection in France.
Low circulation in France
“The stable detection of the XD variant at low levels is rather in favor of a greater lack of competitiveness of this variant compared to BA.2, which is the majority today”, underline the scientists. 40 men and 37 women contracted this variant in France, with a median age of 37 years. The youngest was 4 years old and the oldest 86 years old.
These XD positive cases mostly come from family clusters, but “this overrepresentation of clusters can be linked to the format of the investigations, which are associated with contact tracing”, nuance Public Health France.
What symptoms?
In the majority of cases, the disease was manifested by the appearance of symptoms. Patients evoke asthenia, abnormal and persistent fatigue (60%), headache (56%), fever (46%), cough or even sore throat.
“The main difference with the cases of Omicron infections previously investigated was the higher rate of ageusia”, reports the analysis of the health authorities. Clearly, XD would be characterized by a loss of taste in more people than with Omicron.
