Although COVID-19 was declared an international health emergency last May, the The virus is constantly evolving.

Eight months later, with the usual drop in temperature during these months, infections have increased in various countries where a new variant has started to spread.

BA.2.86, called Pirola by the media, is a subsequence of the Ómicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was first detected in Europe in July 2023.

On November 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a “variant of interest”, which includes variants of the virus with genetic changes that increase their ability to spread, evade detection and detection by the virus, antibodies and treatment, as well as increase their spread.

However, it is not considered a “variant of concern” and the risk level assigned to it by the agency is “low”.

At this time, experts warn that Pirola It is very contagious, more so than the previous one.

The symptoms of this new variant are similar to the previous ones and usually last for five to seven days, although this number can increase depending on the person.

These symptoms are:

-throat pain

– Cough

– Headache

– Congestion

– Sneezing

-Aphonia

– Muscular pains

-Fever

– Loss of smell

– Shivering cold

– Diarrhea

– Nausea and vomiting (in some cases).

This week, the The Cuban government has asked people to avoid public gatherings due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections and other respiratory diseases, and resume preventive health-sanitary measures followed during epidemics.

Carilda Peña García, vice president of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), told reporters that although the disease has resurfaced in many countries, it has not happened in Cuba, but this should not call for optimism.

The expert emphasized that medical care for acute respiratory infections, including Covid, decreased in December compared to the same period in 2022, which continued in January.

He also said In 2023, no deaths from the coronavirus were reported And the number of serious cases decreased.

“Omicron, along with its subtypes, continues to spread in Cuba, so nothing makes us think that symptoms will worsen due to COVID-19,” he stressed.