WHO and US Health Officials Are Monitoring a New COVID-19 Variant

According to a pandemic alert sent by the WHO late on Thursday, the new variation was labelled as one under observation “due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries.”

Although the possible effects of BA.2.86 are not yet known, the World Health Organisation and US health officials stated on Friday that they are closely watching a new form of Covid-19.

According to a pandemic alert sent by the WHO late on Thursday, the new variation was labelled as one under observation “due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries.”

The variation has only been found thus far in Israel, Denmark, and the US.

In a tweet posted on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) said that it is also actively watching the strain.

According to the WHO, there are only four known sequences of the variation.

The WHO said that “the potential impact of the BA.2.86 mutations are currently unknown and under careful assessment.”

The WHO is now keeping track of more than 10 variations and their ancestry lines.

The WHO has criticised this decision and called for better monitoring. The majority of nations that had created surveillance systems for the virus have already dismantled operations after finding it is no longer as severe and could not justify the price.

More than 1.4 million new instances of Covid-19 were found and more than 2,300 fatalities were recorded during the most recent reporting period, which ran from July 17 to August 13.

In contrast to the preceding 28-day period, when fatalities decreased by 56%, the case burden has increased by 63 percent.

More than 6.9 million Covid-19 instances have been confirmed as of August 13; however, the actual mortality toll is anticipated to be significantly higher because many cases went unreported.

AFP