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In a short time, two sub-variants of omicron appeared. First the EG.5 subvariant called "Eris" was registered and very soon it became dominant in many countries of the world and then the BA2.86 called "Pirola".
The new subvariant "Pirola" is registered in Denmark, Great Britain, USA, Israel, Switzerland and South Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated both subvariants as “variants under surveillance,” meaning that countries must monitor and report any mutations they detect.
Scientists say that both subvariants spread rapidly, but do not present a more severe clinical picture. However, this is not the case for older patients with severe chronic diseases. During the summer in the USA, the number of Covid patients receiving hospital treatment has increased.
Marija Gnjatovic from the Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy INEP says that the new omicron subvariants are very similar to the omicron strain. He adds that it is not necessary to raise the attention to a higher level than it was in the previous period.
“These variants are quite similar to the first omicron variants. They differ, for example, in that the EG.5 subvariant, called "Eris" has changes in the composition of proteins in a way that can cause the virus to spread more quickly. in the population. Not expected to cause more severe symptoms “The second BA2.86 variant called “Pirola” is expected to be able to cause more serious symptoms, to better bypass the already acquired response. Everything is under monitoring and there is no need to panic, but the whole situation must be monitored ", explains Gnjatovic.
He explains that the new subvariants of the corona virus are difficult to distinguish from colds and allergies. At the beginning of the pandemic, the corona virus had specific symptoms and one of the characteristics was the lack of the sense of smell.
" It is impossible at this moment to distinguish, based on the symptoms, whether it is the corona or something else. It is important that people continue to be tested, it is important to know if it is corona or not ," she declared.
And whether the existing tests are sensitive enough to the new omicron subvariants, Gnjatovic says he doesn't have an answer to that question.
" We don't have enough information about it, not enough infected people to validate the tests and it's unnecessary. The old tests have an expiration date and are being withdrawn from use, and I hope that the newly obtained ones will be adapted to the new subvariants ," she said.
He notes that the virus is still changing a lot and that everyone needs to be careful and that the necessary infrastructure needs to be maintained.
Covid infections and hospitalizations are already on the rise in the US, Europe and Asia, and many cases this summer have been attributed to omicron EG.5 or the “Eris” subvariant. Currently, experts are also worried about BA.2.86 or "Pirola", because it has 36 mutations.
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