evidence: BA.2.86 is an Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. BA.2.86 is notable for having more than thirty mutations on its spike protein relative to BA.2.[1] The subvariant, which was first detected in a sample from 24 July 2023,[2] is of concern due to it having made an evolutionary jump on par with the evolutionary jump that the original Omicron variant had made relative to Wuhan-Hu-1, the reference strain first sequenced in Wuhan in December 2019.[3][4][5][6] It is a mutation of BA.2, itself a very early mutation in the Omicron family.[4] BA.2.86 was designated as a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization on 17 August 2023.[7] The variant was nicknamed Pirola by media, although no official sources use this name.[8] Its descendant JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) became the dominating Lineage in Winter 2023/2024.[9][10] [...] Nomenclature [edit]Some news media have used the colloquial name "pirola" to describe the BA.2.86 variant.[29][30] The name is reported to have been created by a social media user by combining the names of the Greek letters pi and rho, which follow the letter omicron in the Greek alphabet.[31]