The XEC variant of Covid-19, which is currently surging across the UK, has the potential to fuel a tripledemic this winter.

That would mean the usual COVID symptoms listed by the NHS - including a high temperature or shivering, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change to sense of smell or taste - would still apply. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, feeling tired or exhausted, an aching body and a headache.

The new Covid variant XEC, more infectious than its predecessors, is rapidly spreading and manifesting intense flu-like symptoms. Originating in Germany, it is now present in various countries including the US and UK.

XEC, a sublineage of the omicron variant, was first reported in Berlin, Germany, in June and is now spreading “quite rapidly” across Europe, North America and Asia, according to Covid data analyst Mike Honey. The Czech Republic had the highest prevalence of the variant as 16 per cent of Covid case samples from the country contained XEC.

A new COVID-19 variant, called XEC, is spreading rapidly in Europe. XEC may “ become the dominant variant globally in the next few months ” because of its growth advantage over other circulating variants, according to researchers at the University of Glasgow.

Over the nearly five years since COVID first emerged, you'd be forgiven if you've lost track of the number of new variants we've seen. Some have had a bigger impact than others, but virologists have documented thousands.

The side effects of newly discovered COVID strain XEC might not be more severe, but appears to be more contagious, epidemiologist Joëlla W. Adams said

When it comes to where the new variant has been detected, right now, it’s more common in Europe. Currently, it’s been detected in Poland, Norway, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and Portugal. But XEC has been detected in other places too, such as China, not to mention the 23 cases that have been detected in U.S. so far, including three in California.

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Doctor Joseph Ambani has warned that the XEC variant of Covid-19, which is currently surging across the UK, has the potential to fuel a tripledemic this winter