NEW COVID 2024 | Symptoms of XEC, the new Covid variant that is affecting much of Europe and has reached Spain.

The XEC coronavirus variant remains the subject of health warnings due to its spread in Europe. At the moment it would affect more than a dozen countries on the continent, approximately 1115 cases diagnosed in 29 countriesincluding Spain. It was first discovered in Germany. last Juneand began to have less influence in the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Slovenia and Spain. According to experts, the new strain of Covid expanding at tremendous speed and in a matter of weeks or months it could become the main variant of the virus, although for now not cause serious concern

for European health authorities.

This strain is characterized by being more contagious than previous ones and having symptoms flu-like: cough, malaise, fever, nasal congestion, loss of smell and taste, sore throat and headache. Although, according to the Daily Mirror tabloid, some people diagnosed also have loss of appetite, malaise and diarrhea. This new variant is derived from the still dominant variants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, i.e. the Omicron subvariant, so vaccines should be effective against XEC. It is expected to become the dominant strain in our country this fall.

Please take precautions

According to a spokesperson for the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), “To date, very limited cases of XEC detection have been reported.“, with less than There are 1,200 cases reported worldwide. Although the symptoms of the new strain are not of concern due to the low reported incidence, in some patients the symptoms of the new strain appear to be more severe. Among them frequent cough, high fever, difficulty breathingsevere fatigue, loss of smell and taste, muscle pain, nasal congestion, vomiting and diarrhea and others.

Symptoms correspond to a cold or fluwhich in most cases leads to confusion or delay in diagnosis. Since the new variant belongs to the Omicron family, Health workers say vaccines are effective Pfizer, Moderna And Novavax, provided against previous strains. However, due to the rapid spread and frequency of symptoms, it is believed that XEC will be present throughout the fall and winter.