New COVID-19 variant XEC is spreading rapidly in Russia

Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has announced that the new COVID-19 variant, XEC, is spreading rapidly and that its symptoms are similar to other subvariants of the recent Omicron strain. Rospotrebnadzor issued a statement saying, "XEC is spreading rapidly, but the symptoms are consistent with other Omicron subvariants."

FIRST CASES DETECTED IN GERMANY AND ITALY

While XEC was first identified in Germany in June, it is also noteworthy that cases were actually recorded in Italy in May. However, it was noted that samples from these cases were uploaded to the GISAID international database in September.

SYMPTOMS AND EFFECTS

Rospotrebnadzor emphasized that the XEC variant is a combination of two previously identified subvariants of the Omicron FLiRT strain, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. The symptoms include classic COVID-19 signs such as fever, sore throat, cough, loss of smell, loss of appetite, body aches, fatigue, headache, and runny nose.

MONITORING AND PRECAUTIONS ARE ONGOING

Rospotrebnadzor announced that they continue to monitor the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 variants and that necessary measures for public health will be taken. During this process, it is important for the public to remain vigilant and follow health recommendations.