A new COVID variant is spreading rapidly and could soon become the dominant variant around the globe. The variant, called XEC, was first detected in Germany in August and appears to have a growth advantage over other circulating variants – but it is not a radically different variant. XEC is what’s known as a “recombinant variant”.
Recombinants can occur naturally when a person is simultaneously infected with two different COVID variants. XEC is the product of a recombination (exchanged pieces of genetic material between two variants) between the KS.1.
1 variant and the KP.3.3 variant.
These two parent variants are closely related, having both evolved from JN.1 , which was the dominant variant around the world at the start of 2024. XEC was first reported in early August 2024 in Germany and a few other European countries but has since continued to spread, with over 600 cases identified in 27 countries across Europe, North America and Asia.
Scientists identify XEC cases using a public database called Gisaid , to which genetic sequences of viruses are uploaded for analysis. It is here that mutations in SARS-CoV-2 are spotted (SARS-CoV-2 being the virus that causes COVID). But it’s a bit like a drunk looking for his lost keys under the street lamp because that’s where the light is best.
In other words, more cases of new variants are spotted in those countries that typically sequence more COVID samples through routine surveillance programmes. Countries with the highest n.