Top US disease control agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), now has been tracking a new variant of the virus that causes Covid-19. The lineage, which is named BA.2.86, is highly mutated, and it has been detected in Israel, Denmark and the United States.

“CDC is tracking a new lineage of the virus that causes Covid-19. This lineage is named BA.2.86, and has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel. CDC is gathering more information and will share more about this lineage as we learn it," the CDC mentioned in a post on messaging platform X.

The recent information comes a few hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned that it had classified BA.2.86 as a “variant under monitoring". It is also due to the  large number of mutations it carries. Meanwhile, the CDC also revealed that so far, only a few sequences of the variant have been found out, and only in some countries.

WHO has designated #COVID19 variant BA.2.86 as a ‘variant under monitoring’ today due to the large number of mutations it carries.

So far, only a few sequences of the variant have been reported from a handful of countries. ? https://t.co/3tJkDZdY1V

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 17, 2023

As per the global health agency, all viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, get altered over time. While most changes have little to no impact on the virus’s properties, the changes may have an affect on the virus’s properties, such as how easily it spreads, and also the associated disease severity. It can also impact the performance of vaccines, and therapeutic medicines.

In a statement posted on X, WHO also maintained that more data are needed to understand this Covid-19 variant BA.2.86, including the extent of its spread. Nonetheless, the number of mutations certainly demands attention.

“WHO is tracking 3 variants of interest and 7 variants under monitoring at the moment. WHO continues to call for better surveillance, sequencing, and reporting of #Covid19 as this virus continues to circulate and evolve," WHO added.

Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, further informed Reuters that the new lineage has 36 mutations from the currently-dominant XXB.1.5 covid variant. However, if BB.2.86 will be able to out-compete other strains of the virus still remains a point of contention. Also, will it have any advantage in escaping immune responses from prior infection or vaccination, also remains to be seen.