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The World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded BA.2.86 to a “variant under monitoring," citing the "large number of mutations it carries."
BA.2.86, which has now been nicknamed "Pirola," was first detected in Israel, and cases have also been identified in the United Kingdom and Denmark.
The initial case in the US has been detected in Michigan.
The patient, an older person with mild symptoms, is from Washtenaw County, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced. Ann Arbor is the county's largest city.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it's also tracking the new strain.
The WHO says a "variant under monitoring" has genetic changes that could affect characteristics like transmissibility but that "limited evidence makes its impact unclear."
Currently, a new Omicron subvariant known as Eris, whose official name is EG.5, is accounting for most COVID cases nationwide, just ahead of the XBB.1.16 strain known as Arcturus, according to estimates by the CDC.
Arcturus is also an offshoot of the highly-contagious Omicron strain.
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