A report from the Official Covid-19 Registry of the General Directorate of Epidemiology confirmed the first case of the Pirola variant in Mexico City.
The JN-1 variant comes from the BA.2.86 lineage of SARS-CoV-2 and its name “Pirola” comes from an asteroid discovered in 1927, in a German observatory; this in turn, received this name from the family of natural herbaceous plants from the temperate and arctic regions of the northern hemisphere, the Pyrola.
This new strain has more than 30 modifications in the amino acids of its protein and is already circulating in several countries worldwide such as Denmark, Israel, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Thailand, South Africa, the United States, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Chile.
What are the symptoms of the Pirola variant?
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers Pirola a ‘follow-up’ variant since it is believed that cases in the world will increase during the winter season and considers the following symptoms to be its main ones:
- Warranty pain
- Nasal congestion
- sneezing
- Loss of smell
- Fever
- Cough
- Hoarseness and hoarseness
- Headache
- Cut body/muscle pain
How contagious is Pirola?
The Pirola variant can be transmitted by air or intestinal route, however, they do not have a greater risk of worsening the disease in the population as was seen at the time of the spread of the coronavirus, according to the WHO.
COVID: LA NUEVA VARIANTE PIROLA JN.1
— Alejandro Macias (@doctormacias) December 17, 2023
Por lo que está ocurriendo en Estados Unidos y Europa, la subvariante Pirola JN.1 dominará e incrementará las infecciones por COVID en los meses consecuentes. ¿Qué tan grave será? pic.twitter.com/EMfiB1QHKa
For his part, Dr. Alejandro Macías explains that although it is not a dangerous strain, it is a variant that is transmitted much more easily, making it highly contagious.
“It is a variant that is transmitted much more easily. It is a subvariant of omicron. And it will surely increase cases towards the coldest seasons in co-circulation with the influenza virus,” said the renowned infectious disease specialist.
He explained that the recent vaccines against Covid protect well against this strain and asked the population not to be alarmed, but to be vigilant to prevent infection.
TYT Newsroom