More than 30 cases of the Pirola Covid variant have been spotted in the UK, health chiefs revealed today.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that 36 cases of the strain, scientifically known as BA.2.86, have been spotted, up from just three a week ago. 

Two are in Scotland while 34 are in England. 

Of the cases in England, 28 came from a single outbreak in a care home in Norfolk, which infected 87 per cent of residents and left one hospitalised.

Health chiefs said this signals a ‘high attack rate’ and could be an early indicator that the strain spreads easily indoors. 

In total, five people with confirmed Pirola infections have so far required hospitalisation, though UKHSA analysts said no deaths have been recorded.

Experts told MailOnline the data suggests that the Omicron sub-variant is more transmissible than its predecessors but that it is no more severe.

UKHSA said it was notified about the care home outbreak on August 21.

All residents and staff took PCR Covid tests which were sent to labs for analysis.

Results showed that 87 per cent of residents were infected, whilst 12 staff also tested positive. 

One resident was hospitalised and four remain unwell. 

Health chiefs are spooked over the variant’s high number of mutations.

These signal that the variant could potentially be more infectious or be different genetically enough from previous variants that the protection offered by jabs or prior infection is significantly reduced. 

But the UKHSA said it will be ‘some time’ before it knows how quickly the variant is spreading, how effective it is at making people ill and how good it is at dodging immunity from jabs or previous infections. 

Dr Renu Bindra, UKHSA incident director, said the agency is working with scientists around the globe to study the strain.

The agency is advising Norfolk County Council on its outbreak to curb the spread of the infection, she said.

Dr Bindra urged people to come forward for Covid vaccine drive, which was recently accelerated to launch on Monday due to fears surrounding Pirola. 

‘It remains vital that all those eligible come forward to receive their autumn vaccine as soon as it is offered to them,’ she said.

Reacting to the UKHSA report Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, said: ‘It does indicate that the general trend we have seen since variants arose, towards transmissibility rather than pathology, is holding and that we can reasonably expect the same to be true of the variants to come.’ 

Professor Paul Hunter, a respected infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia, also told MailOnline that while ‘early days’ the fact only one person in the care home outbreak required hospitalisation ‘doesn’t raise any red flags’.

Apart from the care home outbreak, all the other Pirola cases are unlinked, suggesting Pirola is spreading in the community, the UKHSA said.

The agency’s Pirola cases only reflect a fraction of the true toll. 

Brits are no longer testing en masse like they were earlier in the pandemic — with community mass testing ending in May 2022.

Therefor it is unclear how many Brits are infected with Covid and how many of those have Pirola.  

While only two cases have been confirmed in Scotland, more are suspected. Traces of the variant being found in wastewater analysis by Scottish authorities. 

No Pirola cases have been detected in Wales or Northern Ireland. 

While the prevalence of the virus is unclear, data from the ZOE Covid study, which tracks self-reported infections, suggests there were 100,516 new cases of symptomatic infection on September 6 — double the 50,000 it reported at the start of August.

The study, which is based on data from millions of users of the ZOE app, estimates around 1.2million in the UK are currently infected, roughly one in 57 people. 

The figure is the highest for five months but it is still far lower than the estimated toll during earlier peaks, with it reporting that 3.8million people were infected in April 2022.

Experts predict Covid cases will continue to rise as the UK heads into the autumn, as people mix more indoors.

This could exacerbate NHS pressures, with the season traditionally a busier period for the health service than summer. 

The UKHSA’s report today also included an analysis of the Pirola cases which have undergone genetic trusting.

Results suggests several slightly different Pirola strains have entered Britain multiple times from overseas, rather than in one singular superspreader case.

Tests include whether the closely related ‘Kraken’ variant — which arrived in the UK in the first half of 2023 — offers some protection from Pirola.

They are also analysing how accurate the current generation of lateral-flow-tests are at detecting a Pirola infection.

UKHSA is also working with other British scientists on determining how fast Priola could spread and how effective the current batch of Covid jabs are against the heavily mutated variant. 

Globally, the variant has been spotted in more than dozen countries, including the US, Denmark, South Africa, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, France and Switzerland.

The variant’s meteoric rise on the global stage and its host of over 35 mutations has sparked alarm among scientists.

Such concerns prompted the Department of Health and Social Care to accelerate the autumn Covid and flu jab drive.

Annual vaccinations for care home residents and vulnerable adults, who are at most risk of a severe infection, were due to start in October.

However, they will now start from Monday in a bid to boost protection earlier in the year amid fears that Pirola could trigger a fresh wave.

Ministers said they had made the decision to reduce pressure on the health service while scientists rush to learn more about the variant.

But virologists have warned it is too early to pinpoint whether BA.2.86 triggers more severe illness than earlier versions of the virus, as scientists are still analysing recently discovered cases.

Professor Francois Balloux, an infectious disease expert based at University College London told MailOnline: ‘Based on the tiny number of BA.2.86 cases diagnosed to date there is no evidence for, but also no reason to expect, a significant shift in symptoms.’

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, said that a combination of immunity induced by previous infections, Covid vaccinations and ‘a combination of changes in the virus’ has seen Covid symptoms alter over the last three years. 

‘It’s much more like a cold now than when we first experienced Covid,’ he said.

Early results from a US lab earlier this week suggested Pirola may not be as dangerous as initially feared.

The research, published by the Dan Barouch Lab, part of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard University School of Medicine, analysed how well the immune system of the 66 participants fought-off 10 Omicron subvariants, including BA.2.86. 

They found that antibodies — proteins that protect against infection — were less effective against Pirola than its ancestor BA.2.

However, when compared to other Omicron variants currently circulating, the results were similar, suggesting Pirola is no better at dodging immunity.

While this won’t stop people from catching the virus, it suggests the UK’s wall of immunity — built up from waves of infection and vaccine rollouts — should help prevent a dramatic spike in people from becoming severely ill.

Record prescription levels for a common sleeping pill could be due to misuse by Brits wanting wild sex, experts warned today.

Zolpidem prescriptions this year hit the highest level since records began in 2018 — with 58,000 doses dished out in March.

For years Z-drugs like zolpidem, better known by its brand name Ambien, have been touted as a user-friendly alternative to older and notoriously addictive tranquillisers.

But up to one in 100 users of the drug will experience strange ‘sleep-related behaviours’ like sleepwalking or having sex without being fully aware, it is estimated.

Thousands of Ambien users have also shared their experiences of drug-induced sex on online forums labelling it the ‘best sex they’ve ever had’ and crediting the sleeping pill with allowing them to ‘do things I would be too scared to do normally’.

Experts however have warned the drug is ‘strong medication’ and must only be used by those experiencing ‘distressing sleep behaviours’.

Nuno Albuquerque, Head of Treatment for the UK Addiction Treatment Group told MailOnline: ‘It is absolutely plausible that the rise in prescriptions of zolpidem could be related to the outcome that for some, its use enhances a person’s sex drive and/or sexual experiences.

‘This of course won’t be the case for everyone, but it is, anecdotally, something we have discussed with zolpidem clients during their treatment programmes.

‘Our advice to anyone with regards to prescription drugs is to only take them when prescribed and only as prescribed.

‘Zolpidem is a strong medication and should only be used in the short term and only by those who are experiencing distressing sleep behaviours.’

The side effect is famous for its association with celebrity fiascos. 

Golfing icon Tiger Woods was reported to have taken the same drug to spice up his sex life with one of his alleged mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, in 2009.

A source close to her claimed Ms Uchitel reportedly told friends: ‘You know you have crazier sex on Ambien, you get into that Ambien haze.’

She added: ‘We have crazy Ambien sex.’

And the phenomenon has become so common that forum users are sharing their experiences of using Ambien specifically for sex in online chatrooms.

In a Reddit group with over 147,000 members, one user wrote: ‘Every time I get my Ambien prescription my partner and I set a dose or two aside for us to use recreationally.’

Each occasion is the ‘best sex we’ve ever had’, they added.

‘Anyone else get this on Ambien? It’s just interesting to me I don’t think I expected Ambien to make me so horny like that.’

In a separate thread titled ‘I can only have sex on Ambien’, a user said: ‘I’ll take my Ambien and my brain is quiet and lucid.’

They added: ‘We have messy but good sex that costs us sleep cause we should sleep. Ambien sex is good. I love it.

‘But I also want to have normal sex again. I can’t get out of my head or make my body respond.’

On another group, a Reddit member asked: ‘Sex on Ambien? Anyone has tried and has thoughts or tips? Considering trying it soon with both me and my partner taking 20mg and alcohol.’

One user responded: ‘Omg, I love sex on Ambien, it let’s me do things I would be too scared to do normally.’

A second said: ‘My husband said it was great, but I only vaguely remember it.’

But a third cautioned: ‘Watch out with the alcohol also makes you hallucinate hard.’

Another also warned: ‘Don’t do alcohol with that dose.’

The NHS advises anyone taking the drug: ‘Do not drink alcohol while you’re on zolpidem.’

It adds: ‘Having them together can make you go into a deep sleep where you find it difficult to wake up.’

Studies have also shown when mixing both drugs together, they can drastically slow the central nervous system and impacting how it functions.

Staying up and experiencing such side effects has become known on internet forums as the ‘Ambien Walrus.’

Sleep blog Van Winkles said: ‘When [Ambien] works as intended, the user is like a lump, but when it exhibits its adverse effects, the user is driven to sleepwalk, shuffling around awkwardly as a walrus would flipper across an ice floe.’

Van Winkles added: ‘If Walrus happens to share a bed with someone, it may get amorous with that person.’

An increase in arousal is not listed as a side effect of Ambien, but ‘lack or loss of self-control’ is.

The health service also warns anyone experiencing symptoms including memory loss or seeing or hearing things that are not real, however, to stop taking zolpidem and call a doctor or call 111 as soon as possible.

Zolpidem enters the gut, passes into the bloodstream and interacts with the benzodiazepine binding site on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor complex.

In doing so, it increases GABA activity. GABA is a neurotransmitter — a chemical — that inhibits certain types of brain activity.

Through its actions on the GABA system, zolpidem increases brain inhibition and calms nerve excitability in the brain to help induce sleep.

If the action of GABA in the brain is boosted, then sleep is improved.

But the risks of the medication have long been known by medical bodies.

In 2014, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of medicines in the UK, issued a drug safety update warning of the risk of drowsiness and reduced driving ability when taking zolpidem.

To reduce this risk, it advised patients not to drive, operate machinery, or work at heights until at least 8 hours after taking zolpidem.

It also warned patients not to take zolpidem with alcohol, illicit drugs, or other central nervous system suppressants and not to drive, operate machinery or work at heights if they are still drowsy after taking Zolpidem.

It came just a year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which polices the safety of drugs in the US, ordered Sanofi-Aventis, the manufacturers of Ambien and Ambien CR, and all other manufacturers of zolpidem to change their dosage recommendations.

This was in response to over 700 reports of zolpidem-related driving accidents, including drowsy driving and sleep driving — patients getting out of bed while not fully awake and driving.

People also reported eating, walking, making phone calls, or having sex after taking Ambien and having no memory of doing so.

The drug’s label now refers to the risk of ‘preparing and eating food, making phone calls, or having sex.’

It also marked the first and only time a drug was put under an FDA-mandated sex-specific dosing regime in the United States.

Under its updated 2013 guidance, the FDA recommended that women take half the dose of men, citing new data on women’s higher risk for next-day cognitive impairment that posed dangers for activities like driving.

At the time, Jean Pierre Kaplan, who co-invented the drug that became known as Ambien, described zolpidem as a ‘professional disaster.’

He added: ‘It’s not lifesaving, it does not treat cancer, it does not treat malaria, it does not treat Alzheimer’s—the most difficult illnesses to treat. Therefore, I call it a comfort drug.’

Dr Hugh Selsick, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told MailOnline: ‘Unusual sleep related behaviours are a known side effect of Zolpidem but the majority of patients will not experience them. 

‘They can emerge as sleepwalking while at other times a person might engage in the behaviour prior to falling asleep and have no memory of it due to the amnesic effects of the medication.’

He added: ‘We’re not aware of any patients having reported that the drug had a positive effect on their libido but it’s not uncommon for insomnia to reduce sex drive and therefore treating it may lead to a normalisation of a person’s libido.’

Others however have also warned of its dangers as a date rape drug.

In a 2008 review of case reports on complex sleep behaviors associated with Ambien in the medical journal CNS Drugs, the single case of ‘sleep sex’ involved an Ambien taker being raped.

Reports of Ambien-related crimes even include homicide/manslaughter, according to a 2019 review of sleep-related violence, published in Contemporary Reviews in Sleep Medicine.

Johnson Matthey stormed to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard amid takeover speculation after an industrials investor doubled its stake.

The chemicals giant, which will be booted out of the blue-chip index later this month, soared 9.9 per cent, or 160.5p, to 1790.5p yesterday as Standard Latitude Master Fund increased its holding from 5.2 per cent to 10.1 per cent, according to a stock market filing.

The move means New York-based Standard Industries is now the largest shareholder in the London-listed firm.

It first bought into Johnson Matthey in April last year.

Lacie Midgley, analyst at UK-based investment bank Panmure Gordon, said Standard Industries has a track record of active investment in the chemicals sector.

The firm bought WR Grace, a major process catalyst producer, for £5.6billion in July 2021.

Midgley added that Johnson Matthey could not be ruled out as a takeover target given the ‘current share price fundamentally undervalues the sum-of-the-parts’. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at online trading firm CMC Markets UK, added that the move could also mean that ‘pressure will build for a partial break-up of the business’.

The London-listed firm earlier this year signed a three-year strategic partnership with the Norwegian hydrogen company Hystar.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, or 25.41 points, to 7464.54.

But the FTSE 250 slipped 0.4 per cent, or 68.8 points, to 18536.9.

Oil prices rose 1 per cent as Brent Crude edged above $87 a barrel.

The gains lifted BP 3 per cent, or 13.3p, to 500.8p and Shell added 1.4 per cent, or 33p, to 2444.5p. Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser said Kris Licht will join as chief executive on October 1.

The consumer goods group – which also makes Durex and sore-throat-sweet Strepsils – announced Licht’s appointment at the end of April.

He has served as president of Reckitt’s health business, and will replace Nicandro Durante, who took over last October.

Shares rose 0.1 per cent, or 8p, to 5710p.

Frasers Group raised its stake in online retailer Boohoo for the second time this week.

Mike Ashley’s retail empire, which owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels, increased its holding in the fashion brand from 9.1 per cent to 10.4 per cent.

That means Frasers is in control of more than a tenth of Boohoo and Currys (up 0.3 per cent, or 0.15p, to 50.2p) and almost a fifth of Asos (up 2.6 per cent, or 11.4p, to 449.8p).

Boohoo gained 6.1 per cent, or 2.16p, to 37.81p and Frasers Group added 0.2 per cent, or 1.5p, to 808p.

Johnson Service Group bought the largest healthcare linen supplier in Ireland for £27m (€31.5m).

The London-listed group said Celtic Linen, like many businesses within the textile services, was left reeling by the impact of Covid.

Shares yesterday gained 4.2 per cent, or 5p, to 123.8p.

Kinovo, a property services firm, dashed hopes over a possible takeover bid spearheaded by the owner of its top shareholder.

The group last month was approached by private equity firm Rx3, which counts the American comedian Kevin Hart and High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens among its advisors, with a 56p-per-share cash offer.

Rx3 is owned by Tim Scott, who holds a 30 per cent stake in Kinovo through his investment company Tipacs2.

But the AIM-listed group yesterday said if the offer was formally tabled then it would not recommend it to shareholders.

Rx3 has until September 21 to decide whether it wants to make an offer, or walk away.

Shares rose 6.1 per cent, or 3p, to 52p.

BUSINESS LIVE: FTSE 100 sinks as markets await Bank of England rate hike; Whitbread sales jump; DS Smith volumes remain weak

By Live Commentary

Updated: 03:50 EDT, 22 June 2023

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