WHO experts assessed the threat of a new strain of Eris coronavirus

The WHO is declaring a new strain of ‘Eris’ coronavirus as a variant of interest as the number of COVID-19 cases rises worldwide. The health risk of the EG.5 strain, which is associated with the Omicron sub-variant, is currently assessed as low, but could cause a large wave of infections.

The World Health Organization has identified a new strain of COVID-19 as a variant of interest, although the public health risk has been assessed as low.

The variant known as EG.5 or “Eris” is related to the Omicron sub-variant called XBB.1.9.2 and is growing in prevalence worldwide, with the UK, China and the US among the affected countries.

However, WHO has suggested that this option does not pose much of a threat so far, The Guardian notes. “Based on available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is assessed as low globally,” the agency said, adding that the risk appears to be on par with other circulating options of interest.

“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage and immune protective properties, no change in disease severity has been reported to date,” the WHO added.

Christina Pagel, Professor of Operations Research at University College London, emphasizes that while this variant is growing in prevalence and appears to be better at coping with the immune system, allowing it to crowd out other variants, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease. .

“It will probably cause a wave of new cases and all the problems that come with it – such as an increase in the number of hospitalizations and prolonged Covid – but at the moment there is no reason to think that this year will be worse than in previous waves,” she said.

Pagel noted that weakened immunity, whether from vaccinations or previous infections, could mean that the EG.5 wave took longer to peak and therefore could have been larger.

Professor Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, said that while the prevalence of this variant in the UK is growing relatively slowly, its infectivity and ability to resist antibodies means that the number of cases could increase at a faster rate when schools return and people return to work and university after the summer.

Professor John Edmunds, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the new variant could well lead to an increase in cases, but added: “Successive waves of Omicron sub-options have characterized the last 18 months.”

WHO listed a number of actions that it recommended prioritizing to Member States to better understand antibody shedding and EG.5 severity, including monitoring changes in severity scores.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published an update last week suggesting that EG.5, or more specifically its sub-variant EG5.1, accounts for an estimated 15% of detected Covid-19 cases in England.

Dr Mira Chand, deputy director of the UKHSA, said the emergence of new options was not unexpected.

“The UKHSA continues to review available data related to Sars-CoV-2 variants in the UK and overseas,” said Dr Chand. – EG.5.1 was designated as an option on 31 July 2023 due to continued growth internationally and presence in the UK allowing us to track it through our normal surveillance processes.”

Mira Chand added: “Vaccination remains our best defense against future waves of Covid-19, so it is more important than ever that people come and get all the doses they are entitled to as soon as possible.”