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The genomic surveillance team of the National Institute of Health (INS) of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) identified the first case in the country of the BA.2.86 or ‘Pirola’ sublineage descended from the omicron variant. What is known about her?

Through genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, it has been identified that the first case of ‘Pirola’ in our country comes from the district of Chorrillos (Metropolitan Lima), corresponding to a 47-year-old woman who is stable and receiving treatment. outpatient at home.

“Covid-19 has a high capacity to mutate permanently and that is why from time to time we have a new variant in the world to maintain transmission in the community,” explained Víctor Suárez Moreno, executive president of INS, in an interview with Tv Perú.

The BA.2.86 or ‘Pirola’ lineage is a “variant under monitoring” designated as such by the World Health Organization (WHO) because it was considered to have a high capacity to evade the protection of vaccines and previous covid infections. 19.

“This variant greatly worried scientists because they thought it could have the ability to evade the immune response and spread quickly. However, this variant, which has been identified for 2 to 3 months in the world, only accounts for 2% of all the variants that have been described in the world.”

In Peru, in epidemiological week 39, the “Kraken” variant continues to be the most prevalent with 76%, followed by “Fornax” with 17% and “Eris” with 4% of sequenced samples.

It is necessary to highlight that these new lineages are detected as a product of the genomic sequencing of samples sent to the INS by the reference laboratories and the Diris of the different regions of Peru.

Return to vaccination

Faced with the appearance of this variant, the Minsa recommends strengthening control measures by completing the vaccination schedule against covid-19, including the application of the bivalent vaccine that offers protection against omicron lineages such as BA.2.86 or ‘Pirola’ .

Víctor Suárez stated that there is nothing to have if we are vaccinated “because we will be protected against a severe illness. “Vaccinated does not only mean having a last dose applied last year, but also a booster dose applied this year.”.

He reminded the population that the Ministry of Health applies the bivalent vaccine throughout the country and it is available in all health facilities nationwide.

“Let us remember that immunity falls over time and it is necessary to have a booster dose on a regular basis,” stood out.

In addition to vaccination, he recommended keeping the environments ventilated and wearing a mask in case we present respiratory symptoms.

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(FIN) KGR

Published: 4/11/2023

2023-11-05 00:05:18
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