MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. The BA 2.86 or pirola variant of the omicron strain of the coronavirus has a large number of mutations, but it is not dangerous, Anatoly Altshtein, Russian virologist, chief researcher of the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, told TASS.

"The main feature that distinguishes [pirola] from other variants is the very high number of mutations. The phenomenon of having so many mutations doesn't happen often. That's what occurred when omicron emerged, when an AIDS patient who also had omicron was identified in Africa at the end of 2021. Due to the fact that AIDS suppresses immunity, the virus existed in [the patient's] body for a very long time. During this period, [the virus] managed to mutate many times over, and the result was an omicron that was very highly infectious but not very pathogenic. This reduced the lethality of [omicron], although it infected a huge number of people," he said.

The high contagiousness of pirola has not been sufficiently proven, Altshtein added. "In general, it (the variant - TASS) is not something highly dangerous," the expert noted.

On Wednesday, Natalia Pshenichnaya, deputy director for clinical and analytical work at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Russia’s sanitary watchdog, said that the BA.2.86 variant has not yet been detected in Russia.