Corona, which has been a serious health threat globally for more than three years, has been alerted by health experts in recent reports about two new variants, Eris (EG.5) and BA.2.86. Additional mutations have been detected in these variants, which can easily dodge their infectivity rate and the body's immunity.
The cases of infection and hospitalization due to the Eris variant have increased rapidly in many countries, while the infectivity rate of BA.2.86 may be very high, about which health experts are alerting.
Both these variants of Corona are quite new and not much study is available about them, yet based on preliminary research, it is being told that BA.2.86 may be the most mutated version of Omicron ever. Now the question is, which of these two new variants is the most dangerous, and what efforts can be made to prevent infection from them? Let us understand this in further detail.
Experts alerted about new variants
Scientists say in preliminary studies on new variants, given the nature of these variants, there is no danger like an epidemic now, but everyone needs to be alert about corona. Cases of these variants are on the rise in the UK, China, Israel, Denmark, and the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified BA.2.86 as 'Variant Under Monitoring' due to the nature of the variant. This means that special monitoring is being done on these variants.
Researchers say the new variant of Covid BA.2.86 may be more dangerous than Eris.
The nature of BA.2.86 can be worrying
The new COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 has also spread across the world, following the rapid outbreak of Aris in the United Kingdom. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is a new sub-variant of SARS-CoV-2 from Omicron, first identified in Denmark in 2022.
The scientists found that the antigenic and spike structures of this variant show a large-scale change, which can increase the affinity for ACE2 receptors, and most importantly, it can easily dodge the immunity created by vaccination and infection in the body.
Infectivity of new variants may be more
CDC experts say the new variants are clones of Omicron, and Omicron has been shown to have a lower risk of developing severe disease, so they are less likely to cause severe disease. Although we have identified more cases of Eris around the world, there is a higher rate of infection. On the other hand, more mutations have been observed in the spike protein of BA.2.86, in which case the risk of infection may be higher. However, efforts are still on in the studies to understand the nature of the new variants.
Keep taking measures to prevent infection
In a conversation with Amar Ujala, Shrey Srivastava, a doctor of intensive care at a hospital in Greater Noida, says, at present the condition of the corona is quite controlled in the country, on average 50 new people are getting infected daily. However, it should always be kept in mind that the coronavirus is constantly mutating and bringing new variants, keeping this in mind it is necessary to keep taking preventive measures.
Taking care of hand hygiene, wearing masks in crowded places, and following social distancing should be made a part of our routine, it can help protect against many types of infectious diseases.
(PC: Freepik)
