Corona variant Pirola: Strange symptoms are likely to occur if infected

It was only summer and suddenly autumn is just around the corner – with cold, wind and rain. With the cool season, the number of respiratory diseases also increases. And therefore also that of corona diseases. Even though many have the impression that the coronavirus has disappeared from their daily lives, it is returning this fall and winter with a significantly different variant – with completely new and sometimes strange symptoms.

Yet this is not yet a cause for great concern, as virologist Jürgen Rissland makes clear.

Nevertheless, with the increased stay in closed spaces and the increasing number of infections since July, one must keep an eye on the infection situation and possible mutations of the virus, because: According to virologist Rissland, it cannot be ruled out that the virus will become dangerous, because the future development of the virus cannot be predicted. He explained this at the “Tagesschau”.

If you have a severe, acute cold, you should ideally test yourself for the coronavirus. Especially if you belong to a risk group or have contact with vulnerable groups.

But other complaints that have not previously been associated with Corona may also indicate an infection if you are infected with the new subvariant BA.2.86.

The new mutation, known as Pirola, comes from the omicron sublineage BA.2 and was first detected in Denmark at the end of July and in the United Kingdom at the end of August.

Pirola has also been found in Germany since mid-September. According to the current weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), only four people have been infected with the virus subtype so far – and that in different states. This means that the Corona variant Eris continues to dominate the infection process in Germany.

The special thing about Pirola: The variant has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein and is therefore attracting more attention among researchers and virologists. The reason: The more mutations a variant has, the easier it is to evade immunity built up by previous infections or vaccinations. The World Health Organization therefore announced that it was placing the variant under observation – the lowest of the three alert levels.

It is still unclear whether Pirola is more contagious or dangerous than previous variants. However, GP Christoph Specht told RTL that it was “very unlikely” that a dangerous Corona variant would develop again.