Closely monitored since the middle of the month by the World Health Organization and the US health authorities, BA.2.86 has reached France. This Thursday, a first case was detected in the Greater East, according to Public Health France (SPF), confirming the information from the Parisian.
“In the framework of genomic surveillance led by Public Health of France with the National Reference Center for Respiratory Infection Viruses, and in the framework of the activities of the EMERGEN consortium, a case of the BA.2.86 variant was detected in the Greater This, from the samples of the weekly Flash survey of August 21,” SPF detailed.
The organization announced that it had launched an investigation to “collect epidemiological information to document this first case.”
The WHO decided to classify this new variant “in the category of variants under surveillance due to the large number (more than 30) of mutations of the Spike gene that it carries,” the organization wrote on August 18 in its epidemiological bulletin. .
The fear of a resurgence
Nicknamed “Pirola” on social media, this subvariant could escape immunity acquired during previous vaccinations or contaminations.
Only four known sequences of this variant had been reported, with no known associated epidemiological link, the WHO explained. “The potential impact of BA.2.86 mutations is currently unknown and is being carefully evaluated,” the organization stated, stressing once again the importance of continued monitoring, sequencing and reporting to competent authorities to have an accurate and comprehensive picture of the mutation. Covid-19 situation. 19 pandemic.
Currently, WHO is tracking three variants of interest (XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 and EG.5) and seven variants are classified under surveillance (BA.2.75, BA.2.86, CH.1.1, XBB, XBB.1.9.1 , XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3).
Given the resurgence of the epidemic in recent weeks, Brigitte Autran, president of the Health Risk Monitoring and Forecasting Committee (Covars), announced in Release that “the priority is to understand the new variant and prepare the vaccination campaign”, also mentioning the variant EG.5.1, nicknamed Eris by some scientists and that arises from the XBB.1.5 branch.
He recalled the importance of isolation in case of contagion, but he still did not consider it urgent to restore the use of the mandatory mask.
Source: BFM TV
