A senior official at the World Health Organization announced that a highly mutated strain of Covid-19, called (PA.2.86), had been detected in Switzerland, South Africa, Denmark, the United States and Britain.
One of the Omicron variants, Ba2.86, has more than 35 mutations in key parts of the virus’s structure compared to the most prevalent XBB1.5 variant for most of 2023, a number roughly equal to the Omicron variant that It caused a record number of injuries compared to its predecessor.
It was detected for the first time in Denmark on July 24, and subsequently in a number of countries in patients showing symptoms of infection, in traditional examinations at airports, and in samples of wastewater.
Twelve scientists from around the world said that while it is important to track the variant (Ba. 2.86), it is unlikely that it will cause a wave of severe infections and deaths, given the protection of vaccines for immune defenses around the world and the presence of previous infections.
“The numbers are still small,” Maria van Kerkhove, WHO’s chief technical specialist for COVID-19, said during her first interviews about PA2.86.
She added that the lack of association of known cases with each other indicates that the disease is already spreading on a much larger scale, precisely because of the poor monitoring of the outbreak around the world.
Scientists are testing the efficacy of modern Covid-19 vaccines in combating the mutant (BA.2.86). Kerkhove indicated that vaccines are better at preventing disease exacerbation and death than at preventing recurrence of infection.
“We are in a very different phase of the pandemic,” said Marion Combans, a Dutch virologist who advises the World Health Organization.
2023-08-25 05:04:44
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