Also called BA.X, lineage now under WHO’s variant under monitoring list
The World Health Organization (WHO) on August 18, 2023 said it is monitoring a new variant of the novel coronavirus, BA.2.86, also known as BA.X. The United States federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also monitoring the lineage.
It has so far been detected in the US, Denmark and Israel. WHO monitors the different COVID variants under three categories — variant under monitoring (VUM), meaning the global health agency is tracking the variant closely and variant of interest (VOI) or a variant of concern (VOC) if there is evidence that it is more transmissible, more likely to cause severe disease or evades immunity.
The WHO has classified BA.2.86 as a VUM.
Very limited amount of information is available right now on BA.2.86 but large number of mutations need closer monitoring, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the COVID-19 response, posted on microblogging website X, which was previously known as Twitter.
Surveillance, sequencing and COVID-19 reporting is critical to track down and detect new variants, she further said.
In the last 28-day period (July 17 to August 13, 2023), over 1.4 million new COVID-19 cases and over 2,300 deaths were reported from WHO’s six regions. This was an increase of 63 per cent and a decrease of 56 per cent, respectively , compared to the previous 28 days, the United Nations health agency had said in an statement August 17, 2023.
However, four WHO regions have reported decreases in the number of both cases and deaths — the Western Pacific Region has reported an increase in cases and a decrease in deaths. As of August 13, 2023, over 769 million confirmed cases and over 6.9 million deaths have been reported globally.
But the reported cases do not accurately represent infection rates due to the reduction in testing and reporting globally, the WHO added. During the 28-day period, less than half or 44 per cent (104 of 234) of countries, reported at least one case to WHO — a proportion that has been declining since mid-2022. However, the statistic does not reflect the actual number of countries where cases exist.
Meanwhile, cases of the subvariant of COVID-19 called EG.5, are increasing in Europe after first being identified earlier this year. EG.5 is a sublineage of the Omicron variant and as designated a VOI earlier this month.
Globally, EG.5 (dubbed Eris) and XBB.1.16 (Arcturus) are the most prevalent VOIs reported since their emergence from 101 and 50 countries, respectively, according to the WHO.
The public health risk posed by Eris is currently evaluated as low at the global level, the WHO said. However, the variant was most reported in the period June 19 to July 23, 2023, accounting for almost half of all strains reported to Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). GISAID is a global science initiative that provides access to genomic data of epidemic and pandemic viruses.
“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date,” the WHO said. “However, due to its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, EG.5 may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally.”
As of August 7, 2023, 7354 sequences of EG.5 have been submitted to GISAID from 51 countries.
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