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Exclusive: XAY.2 strain does not appear worse so far, says WHO spokesperson
Published: Jan 20, 2023 12:16 AM
By
Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi
Thailand's Department of Medical Sciences on January 6 confirmed the first case in Thailand of XAY.2, a Delta-Omicron recombinant variant, according to local media reports. The news has drawn widespread attention, with many worrying about whether this could lead to a further escalation of COVID-19 cases and how it might affect the epidemic situation in China.
... According to the Bangkok Post, XAY.2 is a hybrid of the AY.45 Delta variant and the BA.4/5 Omicron variant.
On Thursday, Chang Zhaorui, a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC), said at a press conference that the XAY.2 variant was first detected in South Africa on August 31, 2022. The variant has been detected in nine countries and regions so far. Since December 2022, it has been on the rise in a few counties, especially Denmark.
Lindmeier told the Global Times that according to the data from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) on January 17, 2023, 456 samples of XAY.2 were submitted from a handful of countries between August 31, 2022 and January 17, 2023.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202301/1284114.shtml
