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Covid-19 fourth wave to be led by mutant strain XE? Here’s what we know so far
Many experts are anticipating a fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to hit the world in a couple of months.
Updated : Apr 04, 2022, 03:10 PM IST | Edited by : Vaishnawi Sinha
 "Covid-19 fourth wave to be led by mutant strain XE? Here’s what we know so far")
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Just mere months after the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic subsided across the world, experts and scientists are predicting that we need to brace ourselves for another wave of the virus, which is expected to hit the globe in a month or so.
After the Omicron and the Delta variant, which were responsible for the last two waves of the pandemic, experts have said that we need to be prepared for another variant of coronavirus, which has been dubbed the XE strain.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently released a warning about the 2nd Covid mutant strain XE, which is a hybrid strain of two Omicron subvariants. Early studies claim that the XE strain has a growth rate advantage of 10 percent as compared to the BA.2 variant.
Researchers have recently discovered three hybrid strains of the virus which are XD, XE, and XF strains. While the XD and XF variant is a combination of Delta and BA.1, the XE variant is a hybrid strain of two Omicron subvariants.
READ | Covid 4th wave: WHO warns about new mutant strain XE, a hybrid of three variants
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) conducted a study on the three new strains of Covid-19, where it was discovered that the XD strain is a hybrid of French Delta and BA.1 lineage, the XF variant is a hybrid of UK Delta and BA.1 lineage and the XE variant is a mix of a large UK BA.1 and BA.2 lineage.
While issuing an alert about the XE strain, WHO had said, “The XE recombinant was first detected in the United Kingdom on 19 January and >600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since," reads the WHO document. “Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of ~10% as compared to BA.2, however, this finding requires further confirmation.”
The severity of the new strains of coronavirus is still being calculated by researchers right now, and it cannot be said if this will lead to the fourth wave of the pandemic. Researchers have determined that when it comes to the three subvariants, XD is the most severe.
Earlier, a study from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur had predicted that the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will be hitting India in June this year, and will sweep the nation for two to three months. The study said that the fourth wave will subside in October 2022.
