The new BA.2.86 Covid variant is reportedly spreading across the United States after a person in Virginia was confirmed to have contracted the virus.
The individual – the second confirmed case in the US – is said to have traveled from Japan before testing positive for the mutant strain. It has prompted concerns from experts that this is just the “tip of the iceberg”.
According to the Daily Mail, the individual received their positive Covid test on August 10. They were said to be asymptomatic at the time of the result.
The case was identified from a batch of test samples provided by travelers. Now experts have told the Daily Mail US they think the strain could be more prevelant than first thought.
Another case of the new variant was last week discovered in Michigan. The variant is a cause for concern for scientists because it stems from an “earlier branch” of Covid, meaning it differs from variants targeted by current vaccines.
The concern, as well as an upturn in cases across the US, has spooked Atlanta College and Hollywood studio Lionsgate into reintroduing masks. But, while Covid cases are on the up, along with hospitalisations, they remain at levels so low they were almost unseen during the pandemic.
The Daily Mail also says doctors on the ground are not seeing as much of an impact. The paper claims they say symptoms are milder than they were previously.
Dr Aaron Glatt, a medic at Mount Sinai in New York City, said the fact that two cases had been confirmed in the US signaled there are ‘many more’ not being picked up. He told the Mail: “It’s certainly possible that there are tens of cases, and it is certainly very possible that there are more.
“The only question is how important that is. Does this variant have a survival advantage over other strains?”
Only a small number of positive swabs are then sent for variant testing. It means many cases of each Covid strain will go unnoticed.
The case in Virginia is the second time the new strain was spotted in the US. An older person in Michigan was also diagnosed with the strain – they did not require hospital treatment.
The new strain has also been detected in Israel, Denmark and the UK. It is yet to be detected in Japan, but cases and hospitalizations are increasing in the nation.
Latest data from the US shows there were 22,000 Covid patients in hospital. While this is double the week before, it is down considerably from 35,000 that were recorded the same time last year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both said they are tracking the mutant strain. The strain has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein, which is the infectious part of the cell, making it better at escaping the immune system.
Initially three cases were reported – two in Denmark and one in Israel – but that has now doubled. Experts however say it is too soon to know whether the new strain is more transmissible, or likely to cause severe disease.
There have also been concerns over the Covid strain EG.5, which is dominant in the United States, amounting to a fifth of all infections. Scientists say this strain is more transmissible and could be driving an uptick in cases.
Now Lionsgate, the company behind fits such as the Hunger Games and Saw, announced masks would return at its offices in Santa Monica, California. It told the Daily Mail US cases had been increasing among staff.
While Morris Brown College, a private liberal arts school in Atlanta, Georgia, has told staff and students to wear masks in lecture halls and corridors. The college said the rules would be in place for two weekafter “reports of positive cases among students”.
Students have also been told to maintain social distancing, with large gatherings banned. The number of Covid cases in Georgia have increased for three weeks in a row, but overall, the number of infections and hospitalizations remains low.
