New Covid-19 infections have been on a rise across the globe. After Eris first led to increased hospitalizations in the UK and other European countries, another sub-variant of Omicron has been a cause of concern. The WHO has classified BA.2.86 as a “variant under monitoring” and is observing the variant closely and will upgrade its classification if the variant is found to be transmissible or severe in comparison to other Omicron sub variants. Here is what you need to know about the new covid variant.
What is variant BA.2.86?
BA.2.86 was first detected in Israel and is a subvariant of Omicron’s BA. 2 lineage. Until now, the cases have been detected in Israel, Denmark, one from the UK and one from the US. This variant has shown high mutations.
What are the symptoms of this new COVID variant?
The most common among the symptoms of COVID-19 is fever. Other symptoms include coughing, fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms may be mild to severe. This depends on the individual and can be similar to a cold or flu-like illness, but if it gets severe, it may require hospitalization as well. Diarrhoea and rashes are also among the new coronavirus symptoms.
Should you be worried about BA 2.86?
As of now, there is no evidence that BA.2.86 spreads faster or leads to a more serious illness than previous variants, but experts are of the view that reduced testing and genomic analysis of new Covid-19 cases has caused a difficulty in better analysis.
Whether restrictions are required or not depends on the transmissibility, which requires further analysis of the variant. Like previous variants, BA.2.86 is air borne in nature and through respiratory droplets, close contact with the infected person may cause an infection.
Differences between BA 2.86 and Eris variants
Both of these variants are from XBB lineage which belongs to the Omicron variant. The number of cases of the Eris variant are more worldwide which seem to have a high rate of transmissibility. However more analysis is required to reach a conclusion.
BA 2.86 has 36 new mutations that may invade the current antibodies we have. In the US and Germany, PFizer and Moderna vaccines are being upgraded against the new strains.
Takeaways
- The WHO has classified BA.2.86 as a “variant under monitoring” and is observing the variant closely.
- Until now, the cases have been detected in Israel, Denmark, one from the UK and one from the US. This variant has shown high mutations.
- BA 2.86 has 36 new mutations that may invade the current antibodies we have. In the US and Germany, PFizer and Moderna vaccines are being upgraded against the new strains.
