;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=ebee8f8df9e5f3de23f572cbf2dca48ec097155b3b678d1e2342f796b30018ae "New Covid variant EG.5: Could the pandemic come back?")
The variant EG.5, nicknamed Eris, brings Covid-19 back into the conversation. The WHO has the omicron subvariant under observation. Could the pandemic come back?
On May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization lifted the global corona health emergency. But at that time WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said that Sars-CoV-2 was not defeated, but that the virus continued to circulate in the world, was dangerous and could develop even more dangerous variants at any time.
And this is where we are now: A new Covid-19 variant is under discussion, EG.5. It just remains to be seen whether this is also “even more dangerous”.
The WHO lists the variant as “variant under observation” (VUM). That means: It is still neither a variant “of interest” (VOI) nor “of concern” (VOC).
How often is the Covid variant EG.5?
The Canadian evolutionary biologist T. Ryan Gregory from the University of Guelph in Ontario took a closer look at the subtype EG.5.1. This subline in particular is nicknamed “Eris”. Eris is also the name of a dwarf planet named after the Greco-Roman goddess of strife and discord. But Gregory emphasizes that the nickname Eris is just a convenient way to refer to the underline, not an indication of how dangerous it is. “Note that the nickname ≠ should create a big ripple on its own,” he tweeted.
However, the WHO listing of EG.5 as “VUM” means that the genetics of the virus could theoretically increase its transmissibility, or virulence, for which there is not yet enough evidence.
EG.5 is a descendant of XBB.1.9.2 (Arkturus), with an additional spike mutation that likely helps the virus evade the immune response via immune escape, according to the Neherlab, based at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel in Switzerland . As early as the end of June, the variant report stated that EG.5 was currently the fastest growing line in the world and was widely used. Again, EG.5.1 could be a slightly beneficial mutation.
According to Neherlab, EG.5 was first detected in Indonesia in February 2023 and was first observed in the USA in March 2023. While it accounted for five percent of Covid cases there in June, it is now the most common variant at 17 percent, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The prevalence of EG.5 was also discussed in a virtual WHO press conference. “Of course, all variants discovered that are a subvariant of omicron show an increased growth rate,” said epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove of the technical lead for the Covid-19 workspace at WHO. This indicates that the virus continues to circulate and change.
But “the impact in terms of hospitalizations and deaths is not that severe because people are largely protected by vaccination but also by previous infections, so some immunity has been built up,” Van Kerkhove continues.
Why we must continue to be vigilant
Nonetheless, Van Kerkhove is concerned that “there may be new variants that are more serious and that’s something we need to look out for”.
It is crucial that countries continue to monitor and, most importantly, continue to report hospitalization, intensive care and death rates to the WHO so that trends can be tracked, the epidemiologist warns. Sequencing is also essential. “The virus hasn’t gone away.”
Although weekly Covid-19 hospital admissions in the US are also increasing again to 9,056, this is just 6 percent compared to the peak of the omicron wave in January 2022.
However, it is unclear whether the mutations in EG.5 are responsible for the recent increase. US doctor Eric Topol emphasizes that it is important to follow the development, but that there is no clear relationship between cause and effect and the current (small) increase in traces in wastewater, cases and hospitalizations.
There is general agreement that EG.5 does not pose a major threat. The increase in the number of cases can also be attributed to the accompanying circumstances: We are in the middle of a Covid summer wave. Many stay in air-conditioned indoor spaces because of the heat. The virus keeps mutating. Protection from previous infections or vaccinations decreases. The susceptibility to reinfection increases.
Nevertheless, it is a good reminder to keep an eye on Covid-19 and the infection process and, above all, to keep it under control. Adapted vaccines – which should also be effective against EG.5 – will come onto the market in the autumn.
Autor: Hannah Fuchs