(Original title: The super-strong new coronavirus strain XE strikes! The first case in Japan and South Korea has doubled the number of British patients in ten days)
Financial Associated Press (Shanghai editor Liu Rui) news,The spread of the recombinant strain XE of the Omicron subtype, which has recently attracted great attention, has been further expanded. According to the latest reports, both Japan and South Korea have found their first cases of inbound personnel infected with XE. At the same time, in the United Kingdom, where XE was first discovered, the number of XE infections nearly doubled in the past ten days, also proving the powerful transmission ability of XE.
The XE strain is a recombinant strain of the Ormicon strain subtypes BA.1 and BA.2, first discovered in the UK.
Japan, South Korea discover first cases of XE infection
According to foreign media reports, on April 11, a woman who entered Japan was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus recombinant strain XE. This is the first time this strain has been identified in Japan.
The infected person, a woman in her thirties, arrived at Narita Airport from the United States on March 26. She was tested positive for the new coronavirus at the airport, and further analysis by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan found that she was infected with the XE strain.
Japanese health officials said Monday that the woman was asymptomatic and did not disclose her nationality.
At the same time, according to the “Korea Daily” report, South Korea found the first confirmed case of the new crown recombinant strain XE. The case was asymptomatic, had received three doses of the new crown vaccine, and was confirmed on March 23.
UK XE cases nearly double in past ten days
Cases of XE in the UK have almost doubled in the past ten days, according to the latest statistics from UK Health Security. As of April 5, 1,125 cases of XE infection had been detected in the UK, nearly double the 637 cases on March 25.
The earliest confirmed case of XE in the UK was detected on January 19 this year, suggesting the virus may have been circulating in the population for months.
After the XE variant was first discovered in the UK, traces of XE have now been found in Thailand, India and Israel. Earlier, cases of XE infection were also found in Hong Kong and Taiwan regions of China. The United States has not reported any cases of XE infection.
However, despite the rapid increase in the number of infections, XE is still only a small fraction of the current total cases in the UK. Last Sunday (April 10), the UK reported a total of 41,469 new cases of new coronary pneumonia, an average of 59,578 new cases in the past 7 days.
Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at the UK Health Security Agency, said in a statement: “We will continue to monitor cases of the recombinant XE variant in the UK, which currently represents a very small proportion of the total number of cases. “
What is the spread of XE?
The UK Health Safety Authority has previously said that XE might be regarding 10% more transmissible than the already more transmissible BA.2, meaning it might be more transmissible than the original Omicron strain that ravaged the world last winter , but also regarding 43% higher.
On March 29, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest report that XE may be the most infectious strain known to date.
However, some experts say they expect that even if XE is more transmissible, its ability to cause severe illness may be diminished.
Jennifer Horney, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware, said in an interview: “XE appears to be in the same direction as BA.2, with an increase in transmission compared to BA.1, but no symptoms. so serious.”
However, there is no authoritative conclusion on the specific transmission ability and harmfulness of XE. So far, the WHO has not listed XE as a “variant of concern”.
