WHO, US tracking new Covid variant BA.2.86; cases detected in 4 nations so far

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US health authorities said on Friday (August 18) that there were closely monitoring a new variant of Covid. The WHO has classified the new variant BA.2.86 as the one under surveillance because of the large number of spike gene mutations it carries. Till now, the variant has been detected in the US, Israel, Denmark, and the United Kingdom (UK). 

Sharing a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed it was monitoring the variant.

Only 4 known sequences of the variant: WHO

According to WHO, there are only four known sequences of the BA.2.86, and the United Nations health agency pointed out that the potential impact of the variant's mutations is presently unknown and undergoing careful assessment.

The WHO is monitoring upwards of 10 variants and their descent lineages. On Thursday, the WHO said that only a few sequences of the variant have been reported from a handful of countries.

UK detects first case of the variant

On Friday, the UK detected the first case of BA.2.86 in a person with no recent travel history. In a statement, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said, "There is currently one confirmed case in the UK in an individual with no recent travel history, which suggests a degree of community transmission within the UK."

"The newly identified variant has a high number of mutations and is genomically distant from both its likely ancestor, BA.2, and from currently circulating XBB-derived variants," the statement added. The UKHSA designated the variant as V-23AUG-01 for monitoring.

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