New COVID-19 variant detected in Ohio. What you need to know

CINCINNATI (ENQUIRER) - A COVID-19 variant that is being watched closely by public health organizations around the world has reached Ohio.

Variant BA.2.86 was detected in one COVID-19 case in Lorain County, the Ohio Department of Health said in a statement Thursday.

The variant may be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported, but that’s not clear yet.

Also called the pirola variant, BA.2.86 is an Omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19. It has mutations that are distinct from other variants currently circulating, health officials said.

It was added to the CDC watch list Aug. 23, following its addition to the WHO’ SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring list, garnering attention despite the small number of officially reported cases.

The virus has been detected in multiple countries on multiple continents.

As of Thursday, there have been at least 23 other human cases detected that were caused by BA.2.86, including two in the United States, in Michigan and Virginia, according to the CDC. The variant also has been confirmed in a case in Canada, 10 in Denmark, one in Israel, two in Portugal, one in the United Kingdom, four in Sweden and two in South Africa.

Pirola has spike protein mutations that mean it could be more immune-evasive or more likely to subvert immunities built up by your body.

“At this point, there is no evidence that this variant is causing any more severe illness, hospitalizations or deaths,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health.

Ohio health officials encouraged Ohioans to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations as the best way to prevent serious illness, and to stay home if they are sick.

The CDC is tracking hospitalizations.

Here are the most-common symptoms of BA.2.86

A a sore throat that causes dryness, itching, and throat pain.
Low-grade fever.
Runny nose.
Sneezing.
Mild to moderate fatigue.
Headache.

COVID-19 cases in Ohio have climbed steadily during the month of August, from a two-week statewide average of 34.7 per 100,000 reported Aug. 3 to 104.1 per 100,000 reported Thursday, Ohio Department of Health records show.

This story was written by our media partners at The Cincinnati Enquirer.