India’s first case of Omicron sub-variant XE has been confirmed by the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG). As of May 3, there was no official confirmation on where the XE sample was obtained from. In early April, two suspected cases of the recombinant variant were reported from Maharashtra and Gujarat, but both were unconfirmed.
It is a sub-variant of Omicron, which caused the third wave of Covid-19 infections in India.
Its symptoms can be mild or severe like fever, cough and cold, heart ailment, severe nerve disease.
Initial reports suggest that XE may be more contagious than Omicron. There is no evidence that it is any more serious in disease severity.
Various reports suggest that at least three hybrid COVID variants are in circulation at present.
