The emergence of a new “striking” variant of COVID-19 alerted scientists

A new variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in London, which causes concern among scientists due to the large number of mutations, writes The Guardian.

A variant named BA.2.86 has been discovered by genetic sequencing, although only a few such sequences have been reported so far. The first case was reported in Israel, after which this variant was found in Denmark and the United States.

The British Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed on Friday that the variant has been found in the UK.

Dr Mira Chand, Deputy Director of the UKHSA, says: “We are aware of one confirmed case in the UK. The UKHSA is currently conducting a detailed assessment and will provide additional information in due course.”

The patient in the UK had no history of recent travel, according to a risk assessment released on Friday by the UKHSA, indicating established international transmission and the extent of transmission in the domestic population – more information on transmission in the UK is expected in the next week or two.

A report from the British Health Safety Agency said that the similarity of genetic sequences across countries suggests relatively recent emergence and rapid growth, although this remains a preliminary analysis given the small number of sequences. Currently, according to the agency, there is not enough data to assess the relative severity or degree of immune recovery of BA.2.86 compared to other options in circulation.

The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that it has designated BA.2.86 as a “monitoring option,” while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) similarly said it is closely monitoring the option after it was discovered in Michigan.

Along with unresolved questions about the severity of this variant, it is unclear if this new coronavirus variant will become the dominant form of the virus.

Its multiple genetic changes – it has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein compared to the currently dominant variant – and its discovery in several countries have scientists on their guard.

Professor François Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at the University of California, acknowledges that BA.2.86 has become the most startling strain of COVID the world has seen since the advent of Omicron. “The most likely scenario is that his lineage acquired its mutations during a long-term infection in an immunocompromised individual over a year ago and then spread back into the community,” he said.

“Since then, BA.2.86 has likely been circulating in a region of the world with weak viral surveillance and has now been repeatedly exported to other places in the world.”

Ballu added that how well the new option has performed compared to other Omicron sub-options will become clearer in the coming weeks.

“At this stage, nothing is known about its intrinsic transmissibility and virulence,” admits the specialist. “A priori, it is not expected to behave differently than current omicron strains in circulation.”

“Even under a worst-case scenario where BA.2.86 triggered a major new wave of cases, we don’t expect to see comparable levels of severe illness and death as we saw earlier during the pandemic when Alpha, Delta or Omicron variant proliferated,” he added, noting that the majority of people currently have been vaccinated, infected with Covid, or both.

But, in his words: “The fact remains that a large wave of infection with BA.2.86 or any other comparable future variant would be an undesirable event.”

Professor Tom Wenceliers, an evolutionary biologist at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, agreed. “I would be very surprised if the high level of population immunity did not continue to protect us well from serious diseases,” he said.

“But in general, I would say that it is relatively likely that this option could cause a wave of infection, although right now it is impossible to say exactly how big it will be, as well as what the impact on the number of hospitalizations will be.”

Professor Rowland Cao, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, said the emergence of a potential new variant of anxiety was not unexpected. “But,” he added, “that doesn’t mean we’re well prepared for it now.”

Among other concerns, Professor Kao noted that COVID appears to be on the rise again, with hospitalizations also on the rise. This, he added, was without evidence that the new option was a factor.

“We should expect the usual combination of back to school and university and back to work in the fall to play a role, as well as possibly seasonal factors,” Kao says. “Besides, the bulk of the vaccinations were done some time ago, and even the most vulnerable are probably approaching the point where the immune defenses are weakening.”

BA.2.86 could add to the pressure, Rowland Kao said, noting that one concern is that this option will not provide the same immune protection and will be different enough to make vaccines less effective.

“There is a good chance that we are in for a bumpy road that will only get bumpier if there are any additional turns in this option,” the expert predicts.