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The BA.2.86 strain, known as Pirola, has now been identified in three states: Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio. The Michigan case, the first in the US, was an older woman who had recently returned from Japan.
At a World Health Organization (WHO) news briefing on Friday, Aug. 25, authorities said they consider BA.2.86 to be part of the Omicron variant family, but that could change if the strain spreads more widely even though Pirola's 30 mutations are from the BA.2 lineage, which was the dominant Omicron strain in 2022.
More data on the strain is expected as soon as within a week.
In a Risk Assessment Statement issued on Wednesday, Aug. 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: "The large number of mutations in this variant raises concerns of greater escape from existing immunity from vaccines and previous infections compared with other recent variants.
"For example, one analysis of mutations suggests the difference may be as large as or greater than that between BA.2 (Omicron) and XBB.1.5 (known as Arcturus), which circulated nearly a year apart."
The Pirola strain was first detected in Israel, and cases have also been identified in several other countries, including the US, United Kingdom, and Denmark.
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, according to estimates by the CDC.
Arcturus is also an offshoot of the highly-contagious Omicron strain.
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