First case of new Covid variant Pirola found here, says HSE
THE first case of a new Covid-19 variant known as ‘Pirola’ has been identified in Ireland, the HSE said yesterday. The latest Omicron subvariant, BA.2.86, was identified in the UK in August, leading to autumn Covid and flu vaccination programmes to be brought forward as a precaution.
Northern Ireland’s public health agency also confirmed yesterday it had identified a small number of cases there.
With over 30 mutations making it very difficult for experts to analyse it, the variant has been placed on the World Health Organisation (WHO) watch list.
The HSE confirmed, however, that there is no evidence at the moment that the new strain is more likely to make people seriously ill than other variants.
A spokeswoman for the health body urged those eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination and boosters to get the jab this season regardless.
She said: ‘The vaccine is one of the best ways of protecting yourself against the Covid virus and protect everyone around you. The best vaccine to get is the one that you’re offered, as all vaccines will give you protection against the virus.’
According to data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), variant BA.2.86 has an unusually high number of mutations and has been discovered in a range of countries, including Denmark, the UK, the US, Israel and South Africa.
New variant ‘Eris’, designated EG.5, was previously detected in Ireland in August and is also a descendant of Omicron.
Though more transmissible than previous circulating variants, Eris was not designated a variant of concern or interest by the WHO.
The majority of recent cases within Ireland involve the XBB variant. There have been 438 Covid-19 cases officially identified as the XBB variant in the country since the beginning of the year.
There are currently 195 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland, according to data from the week ending October 3 – almost double the number of cases two weeks prior.
The variant’s arrival in Ireland comes as a new HSE study heralds its Covid-19 vaccination programme – announcing that 16,000 deaths were prevented and hospital and intensive care admissions hugely reduced by Ireland’s vaccination drive.