A newly discovered COVID strain known as XEC has emerged worldwide, according to an outbreak tracking tool by Scripps Research. The omicron variant KP.3.1.1 made up 52.7% of COVID-19 cases between September 1 and September 14, 2024, yet the XEC COVID-19 variant and another known as MV.1 seem likely to become the next dominant strains, according to a news item in USA Today. First appearing late June in Berlin, Germany, the XEC strain has been observed in 27 countries, including the United States, where it was first found in mid-July. So far, only 25 cases have been detected in the United States, but the number of actual cases is likely higher.
Just the same: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t provided any specific symptom profile for the XEC variant. The agency monitors SARS CoV-2 viruses from every lineage, but its COVID Data Tracker only includes the lineages whose weighted estimates are above 1%. Therefore, the XEC strain may not be on the public-health radar unless it reaches that threshold.
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