India reports first case of coronavirus variant XE

The first case of the new coronavirus variant XE, which might be more transmissible than other strains of the virus, has been reported in Mumbai, India, NDTV reported.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Kappa variant was also found in a patient.

Last week, the XE variant was detected in the United Kingdom. Fortunately, the symptoms in the patients with the new variant are not severe.

XE variant is a "recombinant" which is a mutation of BA'1 and BA.2 Omicron strains. 

Recombinant mutations occur when a patient suffers from multiple variants of COVID. The genetic material of the variants is mixed up during replication, forming a new mutation.