UK Records First Case Of Covid-19 Variant
The UK Health Security Agency has confirmed the first case of COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 in the country.
The UKHSA revealed this on its website on Friday.
It stated that the case was confirmed in an individual with no recent travel history, which suggests a degree of community transmission within the UK.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the US health authorities had on Thursday said they were closely monitoring a new variant of Covid-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.
WHO designated the COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 as a ‘variant under monitoring’ because of the large number of mutations it carries.
So far, only a few sequences of the variant have been reported from a handful of countries.
The BA.2.86 variant has also been identified in Israel, Denmark and the United States of America.
It has been designated as V-23AUG-01 for the purpose of UKHSA monitoring.
The newly identified variant has a high number of mutations and is genomically distant from both its likely ancestor, BA.2, and from currently circulating XBB-derived variants.
The Deputy Director, UKHSA, Dr Meera Chand, said, “V-23AUG-01 was designated as a variant on the basis of international transmission and significant mutation of the viral genome. This designation allows us to monitor it through our routine surveillance processes.
“We are aware of one confirmed case in the UK. UKHSA is currently undertaking detailed assessment and will provide further information in due course.”
