What is the new Covid variant BA.2.86 prompting fears over surge in cases?
Cases of a new variant of Covid-19 that has a larger number of mutations than normal have sparked fears of a wave of infections this summer.
The variant, known as BA.2.86, is being closely monitored by the World Health Organisation.
The first case of the strain in the UK was detected in London and announced on Friday. It is the fifth case found worldwide so far, with others recently found in Denmark, Israel and the US.
The WHO and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) placed BA.2.86 on their monitoring lists on Thursday as hospital admissions for Covid continue to rise in the UK.
The discovery comes just days after the Covid Eris variant, a descendant of Omicron, was reported as the second most prevalent in the UK.
Dr Meera Chand, deputy director of the UKHSA, said: “We’re aware that BA.2.86 has been detected in the UK. UKHSA is assessing the situation and will provide further information in due course.”
What is BA.2.86?
Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and lead for the Covid response at the WHO, said very limited information was available on the newly discovered strain. But a large number of mutations within it needed closer monitoring, she wrote on Twitter.
“Surveillance, sequencing and Covid-19 reporting [are] critical to track known and detect new variants,” she added.
The variant, also referred to as BA.X, was found through genetic sequencing – a process where scientists determine the building blocks of a molecule’s DNA.
Scientists are on alert due to the overly high number of mutations of the variant, with more than 30 in the spike protein – the part of the virus that vaccines aim to neutralise.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of the new variant include a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and a sore throat.
Where did it come from?
The UK case of BA.2.86 had no recent travel history, according to the UKHSA, suggesting previous international transmission and consequent transmission within the UK.
Luke Blagdon Snell, a clinical research fellow at King’s College London, said a patient at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in the capital had first shown symptoms five days ago, and had acquired the infection “locally”.
Three cases of the variant were previously detected in Denmark and Israel, with another found in Michigan in the US.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is monitoring the variant, wrote: “As we learn more about BA.2.86, CDC‘s advice on protecting yourself from Covid-19 remains the same.”
What are the experts saying?
Kristian G Andersen, an immunologist and infectious diseases expert, said the lineage had all the hallmarks of something that could take off, but added: “Our immunity landscape is now complex, so it’s too early to say it will.”
Dr S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, a flagship Texan hospital, said it remained to be seen whether BA.2.86 would be able to out-compete other strains of the virus or have any advantage in escaping immune responses from prior infection or vaccination.
