US Health Authorities Collaborating with WHO to Monitor Emerging Covid-19 Variant

Reuters

The World Health Organization (WHO) and US health authorities are actively monitoring a new variant of Covid-19 called BA.2.86, though its potential impact is still unknown.

The WHO has classified this variant as under surveillance due to the numerous spike gene mutations it carries, numbering more than 30, according to a bulletin released by the organization.

Currently, the variant has been detected in Israel, Denmark, and the United States.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have confirmed that they are closely monitoring the variant as well.

So far, only four sequences of the BA.2.86 variant have been identified.

The potential impact of the BA.2.86 mutations is currently unknown and is being carefully assessed by the WHO.

The WHO is currently monitoring over 10 variants and their lineages.

Many countries have dismantled their surveillance systems for the virus, believing it to be less severe. However, the WHO disagrees and calls for stronger monitoring.

Between July 17 and August 13, there were over 1.4 million new cases of Covid-19 reported, along with over 2,300 deaths, according to the WHO.

This represents a 63% increase in case load compared to the previous 28-day period, while deaths have decreased by 56%.

As of August 13, there have been over 769 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and over 6.9 million deaths worldwide. The actual toll is expected to be higher due to undetected cases.

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