BA.2.86 – the latest strain of coronavirus – has sounded alarm in the global health community. Scientists are worried about the high mutation shown by this new Covid strain. Many feel that it has marked similarities to the early days of Omicron wave that the world saw in 2021. This sub-variant of Omicron, which was declared as ‘variant under monitoring’ by the World Health Organization after only three confirmed infections, has been around since late July.
Nicknamed ‘Pirola,’ the BA.2.86 strain has infected people in countries such as the UK, the US, Denmark and Israel. A latest report published in Nature magazine shows how the researchers are worried about the spike protein factor in BA.2.86.
Virologist Adam Lauring at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor said that it was a ‘deja vu’ feeling. According to Nature, Lauring’s lab had reported a confirmed infection due to the BA.2.86. Lauring further added that there is a fair amount of ‘certainty’ in terms of rise in new infections triggered by the new strain. What makes this new variant much more worrisome is the high degree of mutation. According to the Nature report, the BA.2.86 exhibits 34 mutations. Such an increased number of changes have been seen in people showing symptoms of what is now known as ‘long covid.’ Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s Jesse Bloom, a viral evolutionary biologist, said that the new covid variant may have evolved from such a kind of chronic infection in a long covid patient.
Ex-White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha is another prominent researcher voicing his concerns over emergence of the new sub-variant. Nature quoted him saying that there is ‘enough’ for the global health community to start paying very close attention to this variant. Another key factor is that the infections confirmed so far have found absolutely no link whatsoever. There is no geographical connect between the known cases.
The lack of travel history has also alarmed the researchers. Because this usually means one thing – local community transmission. From analysing the patient samples to looking at the wastewater reports, scientists are now trying to figure out the extent of the spread of Pirola sub-variant. But the million-dollar question remains – can this new variant disrupt the world order? So far, scientists are maintain a somewhat comforting tone as most feel that the immunity due to Omicron infection may help the human population.