XEC now in Australia. This is what we know about this hybrid variant of Covid | World news

However, Australia is still collecting and reporting Covid data. Although the number of cases is likely much higher than the documented number (around 275,000 so far this year), we can still get an idea of ​​when we are seeing significant surges, compared to periods of less activity.

Australia experienced its last Covid peak in June 2024. Since then, cases have been declining.

But SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid, definitely still exists.

What variants are circulating now?

The main Covid variants currently circulating around the world include BA.2.86, JN.1, KP.2, KP.3 and XEC. These are all descendants of omicron.

The XEC variant was first detected in Italy in May 2024. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated it as a variant “under monitoring” in September.

Since its detection, XEC has spread to more than 27 countries in Europe, North America and Asia. By mid-September, the largest number of cases had been identified in countries such as the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

Currently, XEC accounts for about 20 percent of cases in Germany, 12 percent in the United Kingdom, and about 6 percent in the United States.

Although XEC remains a minority variant globally, it appears to have a growth advantage over other circulating variants. We don’t know why yet, but reports suggest it may spread more easily than other variants.

For this reason, it is expected that XEC could become the dominant variant globally in the coming months.

How about in Australia?

The most recent Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report noted that an increasing proportion of XECs have recently been sequenced.

In Australia, 329 SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected from August 26 to September 22 were uploaded to AusTrakka, Australia’s national genomic surveillance platform for Covid.

The majority of the sequences (301 of 329, or 91.5 percent) were sublineages of JN.1, including KP.2 (17 of 301) and KP.3 (236 of 301). The remaining 8.5 percent (28 of 329) were recombinants consisting of one or more omicron sublineages, including the XEC.

Estimates based on data from GISAID, an international repository of viral sequences, suggest that XEC accounts for around 5 per cent of cases in Australia, or 16 of 314 sequenced samples.

Queensland reported the highest rates in the past 30 days (8 per cent, or eight of 96 sequences), followed by South Australia (5 per cent, or five of 93), Victoria (5 per cent, or one of 20) and New South Wales (3 per cent, or two of 71). WA recorded zero sequences out of 34. No data was available for other states and territories.

What do we know about XEC? What is a recombinant?

The XEC variant is believed to be a recombinant descendant of two previously identified omicron subvariants, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. Recombinant variants form when two different variants infect a host at the same time, allowing viruses to exchange genetic information. This leads to the emergence of a new variant with characteristics of both “parent” lineages.

KS.1.1 belongs to the group commonly known as “FLiRT” variants, while KP.3.3 is one of the “FLuQE” variants. Both groups of variants have contributed to recent increases in Covid infections around the world.

The WHO naming conventions for new Covid variants typically use a combination of letters to indicate new variants, particularly those that arise from recombination events between existing lineages. The “X” typically indicates a recombinant variant (as with XBB, for example), while the letters following it identify specific lineages.

So far we know very little about the specific features of the XEC and how it differs from other variants. But there is no evidence to suggest that symptoms will be more severe than with previous versions of the virus.

What we do know is what mutations this variant has. In the S gene that codes for the Spike protein we can find a T22N mutation (inherited from KS.1.1) as well as Q493E (from KP.3.3) and other known mutations of the omicron lineage.
Will XEC vaccines still work well?

The most recent surveillance data does not show any significant increase in Covid hospitalizations. This suggests that current vaccines still provide effective protection against severe outcomes from circulating variants.

As the virus continues to mutate, vaccine companies will continue to update their vaccines. Both Pfizer and Moderna have updated their vaccines to target the JN.1 variant, which is an original strain of the FLiRT variants and should therefore protect against XEC.

However, Australia is still waiting to find out which vaccines will be available to the public and when.

Meanwhile, omicron-based vaccines, such as the current XBB.1.5 Spikevax (Moderna) or COMIRNATY (Pfizer), are likely to provide good protection against XEC.

It’s difficult to predict how the XEC will perform in Australia as we head into summer. We will need more research to better understand this variant as it spreads. But since XEC was first detected in Europe during the summer months of the northern hemisphere, this suggests that XEC could be suitable for spreading in warmer climates.

This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

First published: October 5, 2024 | 10:17 am IS