‘Pirola’ Covid causing variant: All you need to know about the new health threat in USA

A new Covid causing variant called the 'Pirola' or BA.2.86 is spreading in the United States. According to a report by Yale Medicine, the new variant has very high number of mutations, which may be leading to an increase in cases of Covid.

Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Dr Scott Roberts highlighted how the number of mutations in the Delta variant and the Omicron variant had played a role in the rise in Covid infections.

“When Omicron hit in the winter of 2021, there was a huge rise in COVID-19 cases because it was so different from the Delta variant, and it evaded immunity from both natural infection and vaccination,” said Dr Roberts.

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All about BA.2.86 ('Pirola')

The name Pirola is a combination of the Greek letters Pi and Rho. According to a report by Yale Medicine, the virus has 30 mutations to its spike protein compared to XBB.1.5, which is a variant of Omicron.

“Such a high number of mutations is notable,” said Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Scott Roberts, MD.

Meanwhile, Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and lead for the Covid response at the WHO, has highlighted the need to keep a track of emerging variants. Maria said on social media platform "X"(formerly Twitter) that surveillance, sequencing and Covid-19 reporting need to continue in order to do full risk assessments.

Cases in the USA and preventive measures

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) data, two cases of Pirola were detected in the US as of August 23. CDC has recommended the following preventive measures(as per their report on official website)

• Get your COVID-19 vaccines, as recommended
• Stay home if you are sick
• Get tested for COVID-19 if needed
• Seek treatment if you have COVID-19 and are at high risk of getting very sick
• If you choose to wear a mask, wear a high-quality one that fits well over your nose and mouth
• Improve ventilation
• Wash your hands

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