A new strain of Covid has been discovered in the US that could spark a new wave of infections, health officials say – as they begin tracking the mutated strain.
Researchers tracking the variant — dubbed BA.X or BA.2.86 — say a case has been discovered in a Covid sample in Michigan.
The discovery comes less than a day after experts told DailyMail.com that the virus was “probably” already on US soil and likely spreading rapidly worldwide.
A total of six cases in four countries – the US, Israel, Denmark and the UK – have been detected so far, with more likely to be discovered in the coming days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday it was now tracking the mutated strain, while the World Health Organization (WHO) classified BA.2.86 as a “variant under monitoring” because of the high number of mutations it carries.
The Omicron spinoff — temporarily named BA.X or BA.2.86 — has been discovered in the US, health officials say. Six cases of BA.X have been detected, including three in Denmark and one each in Israel, the UK and the US
The above shows Covid variants in the United States. It shows how EG.5, another emerging variant, has grown rapidly across the country
The CDC revealed in an update last night that it was officially monitoring the variant
The CDC announced the case in the US, saying it was “following” a new lineage of the virus that causes Covid.
‘This line is called BA.2.86 and was discovered in the United States, Denmark and Israel.
“CDC is gathering more information and will share more about this lineage as we learn.”
It added: “As we learn more about BA.2.86, the CDC’s advice to protect yourself from Covid remains the same.”
Alarm bells about the strain were first rung earlier this week because of the 30 mutations it carried.
Its detection quickly sparked calls from some for face masks to be returned, while others said it was “reminiscent” of the early days of the 2021 Omicron outbreak.
However, some experts tried to allay the fear, saying they didn’t believe lockdown-era restrictions would be necessary.
Although several cases of BA.X. were detected in four countries, due to delays in testing and reporting, it is likely that further cases will be reported in the coming days.
The new lineage “harks back to an earlier branch” of the virus, explained Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist.
He said it remains to be seen whether BA.X will be able to defeat other strains of the virus or have any advantage in escaping immune responses from previous infection or vaccination.
Early analysis indicates the new variant will “escape equally or more from antibodies elicited by pre-Omicron and first-generation Omicron variants,” Jesse Bloom, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, said in a report Thursday.
US hospital admissions are on the rise, ticking up from historic lows. About 10,000 admissions were recorded in the last week of data being available – 14 percent more than the week before
However, the number of deaths from Covid remains static, although it takes longer for someone who has contracted Covid to be hospitalized and then die of infection
Bloom’s report notes that the most likely scenario is that BA.2.86 is less transmissible than the current dominant variants, so it cannot spread widely, but more sequence data is needed.
“My main concern would be that it could cause a bigger spike in cases than what we’ve seen in recent waves,” said Dr. Lung. “The boosters will still help you fight Covid in general.”
On Thursday, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and leader for the Covid response at WHO, warned that there is very limited information available on the strain and says it needs to be checked because of the large number of mutations.
Surveillance and sequencing are “critical” to detect new variants and track down known variants, she added.
The new detection in Michigan comes as the number of Covid hospitalizations in the US has risen 15 percent in a week, even though they are rising from a record low to 10,000 admissions every seven days.
However, the number of deaths remains low, with about 480 being recorded every seven days.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, warned that another Covid variant – EG.5 – was also spreading rapidly in the US.
Earlier this week, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb that Covid cases are on the rise in the US. He said he was particularly concerned about the South, where admissions were rising the fastest.
This comes amid the emergence of another Covid strain – EG.5 – already dominant in the US and spreading rapidly.
However, scientists stress that there is no evidence that EG.5 is more likely to cause serious illness and death than previous strains.
Dr. Gottlieb said on CNBC’s Squawk Box, “There is nothing to indicate that this particular strain (EG.5) currently circulating in the United States is any more pathogenic than previous variants.”
Monitoring shows that the variant is currently behind nearly one in five cases in the US, but Dr. Gottlieb says the true number is probably closer to half.
Last week, the WHO labeled the species a “variant of concern” because it spread so quickly.
But it added that more extensive analysis of this strain was also needed to evaluate the risk it posed.