GP says new XEC Covid variant is 'wiping people out' and 'expected to become most dominant'

Covid test
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A GP in England has said the new XEC Covid variant is 'becoming more prevalent' with patients reporting feeling 'wiped out'. Dr Helen Wall said GPs are seeing a rise in illnesses as the new XEC coronavirus variant spreads.

XEC is a recombinant variant, which occurs when two existing strains combine. XEC is formed from the KP.3.3 and KS. 1.1 strains, with genetic links to omicron, a variant initially spotted in South Africa in 2021 and known for its high contagion levels and reduced severity compared to earlier SARS-CoV-2 strains.

However Dr Wall said the latest strain is 'expected to become the most dominant'. The Greater Manchester GP has also witnessed patients reporting stronger symptoms than some of the previous variants, such as exhaustion, which 'seem to be really wiping people out'.

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The GP told the Manchester Evening News: "We do see generally a rise in respiratory infections this time of year. There is another Covid variant on the scene which is expected to become the most dominant, and is becoming more prevalent like all the variants before it.

"We don’t completely know if it makes it more or less transmissible, I suspect more because they always are. But we don’t know what the situation is."

Some researchers have said that XEC appears to have a growth advantage and is spreading faster than other variants, suggesting it will become the dominant variant globally in the next few months. Dr Wall said she has observed more recent coronavirus cases appearing more flu-like in nature.

"We could well be seeing the new Covid variant in practice," said Dr Wall. "At the moment, it seems to be a bit more flu-like than previous iterations of Covid, with a high temperature, a cough, aching body, headache. Some of the symptoms in the past were more cough and cold symptoms, but at the moment, Covid does seem to be wiping people out.”

One of the main difficulties for doctors right now, according to the Bolton health worker, is that a lot of symptoms blend with a host of illnesses that often rise when the weather starts to turn colder and children go back to school. "Whether it's Covid versus flu is hard to separate," she said. "People who have the flu tend to be extremely unwell.

"Sometimes, people say they've got the flu but have actually got a bad cold. Generally, if you've got true flu, you're bed bound. With Covid, you might actually be quite well. You might be coughing and having other symptoms, but able to go about your business – and you might be unintentionally spreading it to people who are vulnerable."

Covid testing has dropped massively since the end of widespread testing drives and due to the cost of buying lateral flow kits. This means it's often difficult for public health chiefs to know the exact number of cases and how quickly the latest strains are spreading.

Dr Wall also pointed out that the data that public health officials have is ‘skewed’, as results that are reported are coming from people in hospital who have either fallen severely ill with Covid, or have caught it while sick for other reasons. But the doctor said there's still one crucial thing that can save people from being out of action for weeks, and even going to hospital.

In the absence of hard data, Dr Wall said making sure people get vaccinated against what the NHS has dubbed the ‘tripledemic’ of winter illnesses is vital. This year, the NHS is offering the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, as well as Covid and flu jabs.

As for those who are feeling under the weather, Dr Wall said: "It’s not like it was during the peak of Covid, but a lot of the general advice remains the same. If you have a high fever, try not to mix with people. If people have elderly relatives or know people who are immunocompromised, I wouldn’t be mixing with them if I've got a temperature, or cold or flu-like symptoms."