"We analyse all the samples that come here to see what is spreading in the community. It was during such a routine check-up that I discovered the new variant," says Jonathan Haars, a doctoral student in medical microbiology at Uppsala University Hospital.
Unclear symptoms and high numbers of unreported cases
The new virus variant of the coronavirus has been named BA.2.86, or Pirola. The cases discovered at Uppsala University Hospital are the first known in Sweden, something that UNT was the first to report on.
How this variant differs from previous mutations, such as Omicron, is difficult to know at this point.
"We don't know exactly how it behaves or what symptoms arise. In addition, we believe that the number of unreported cases is high because we no longer test society. Most of the samples come from the hospital," says Jonathan Haars.
Closely monitored
There are about thirty different mutations in the new virus variant, which makes it unpredictable.
"'Pirolan' is under special surveillance by the WHO, because it has so many mutations. We need to see what happens when it spreads in the community, if it is more contagious, for example," says René Kaden, associate professor of medical microbiology at Uppsala University Hospital.
René Kaden thinks that Sweden already has good testing, including through wastewater.
Spread simultaneously in several countries
What is unique about the Pirola variant is that it has spread in several countries at the same time, which makes contact tracing more difficult.
"So far, we know that it exists in Denmark, Germany and the UK," says René Kaden.