The Nextclade lineage classification app has been updated with 70+ new lineages which were defined over the last month or so. Most of these are evolutionary progressions from existing lineages, but there were a few new recombinant lineages:

- XBK: a combination of BA.5.2 and CJ.1 (descended from BA.2.75), highest frequency in Norway and Slovenia
- XBL: a combination of XBB.1 and BA.2.75 (so a "re-recombinant"?), highest in Malaysia
- XBM: a combination of BA.2.76 and BF.3 (descended from BA.5.2), highest in Canada

So far, only a handful of recombinant lineages have had the right mix of mutations to achieve significant transmission, e.g. XBB & XBB.1 (Singapore), XBF (Australia) and XBB.1.5 (USA). It looks like XBK and XBM at least are on a similar track - time will tell.

Interactive genomic sequencing dataviz, code, acknowledgements and more info here:
https://github.com/Mike-Honey/covid-19-genomes#readme

#COVID19 #XBK #XBL #XBM #Norway #Slovenia #Malaysia #Canada