United States: COVID-19 variant trackers have been closely tracking a new virus variant, the XEC, which has been seen all around the globe and in half of the states of America.
More about the news
Authorities are not yet alarmed about this type, unlike several earlier and even more genetically altered versions that sent scientists into a panic.
XEC appears during COVID-19 trends are still “high” but are now more or less stable after a recent surge that occurred in July, which reached its peak last month.
Modelers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that daily cases are likely to tick up again in the winter and reach a high in mid-January, CBS News reported.
States with XEC cases
At least 25 states report at least one such case with the strain’s marker mutations, and data from the global sequencing platform GISAID showed more than 100 cases in the United States.
New Jersey labs have recorded the largest number of infections with XEC, at least 15, compared to any other state. As of now, only California and Virginia have reported at least 10 cases.
New Jersey’s detections are mainly from samples obtained through the CDC testing initiative of travelers who arrive at customs at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Some of the first United States cases were discovered by researchers at a laboratory at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in July when samples were taken from patients.
According to Carla Finkielstein, head of the institute’s molecular diagnostics lab, “We do not see a particular trend. We should keep an eye on the samples coming and continue genomic screening more broadly,” CBS reported.
Finkielstein also mentioned that most of their samples were coming out from hospitals across the southwestern part of Virginia, though it is unclear why exactly they were tested.
According to Finkielstein, “Unfortunately, we do not have demographic data on these patients, so we don’t know whether the patients were hospitalized or, for example, if their samples were collected during an emergency department visit,” CBS News reported.
What more have Variant trackers revealed?
Variant trackers had initially recommended that the new strain be referred to as XEC in early August, infection from which was reported in the labs, both in Europe and in Virginia around the same time.
The variant has recently gained growth in the last few weeks, particularly in Germany, as described by variant trackers such as the Australian consultant Mike Honey said X, which received online attention towards the variant’s rise.