Coronavirus subvariant EG.5, nicknamed ‘Eris,’ is a descendant of Omicron, and it is also becoming dominant in Britain.
The coronavirus has not disappeared. With the advent of successful vaccinations and better social management, however, it has waned.
Globally, over 1 million new COVID-19 cases and more than 3,100 deaths were reported in the 28 days up to Aug. 3, according to the latest World Health Organization report – bringing the death toll to almost 7 million since the pandemic began.
The attention of public health experts around the world is being piqued by a new subvariant, known as EG.5, which is becoming a dominant strain in countries including the United States and Britain.
Here’s what we know.
The EG.5 coronavirus is a subvariant and descendant of Omicron – which remains the world’s most prevalent coronavirus strain.
EG.5 has narrowly surpassed other Omicron descendants circulating in the United States and now accounts for the largest proportion of COVID cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twitter users and some media outlets have unofficially nicknamed the subvariant “Eris” in keeping with Greek nomenclature, but this name is not used officially by the WHO.
All viruses evolve and change over time. In its latest update, the WHO designated EG.5, which includes a similar EG.5.1 strain, as one of its “variants under monitoring,” so it is not yet a variant of interest or concern.
The virologist and researcher Stuart Turville, an associate professor at Sydney’s University of New South Wales, called the EG.5 variant “a little bit more slippery” and “competitive” than its counterparts, able to “navigate better the presence of antibodies” produced by vaccines.
It is, however, only incrementally different from other subvariants, having evolved slightly to “give it a better ability to engage and enter cells a little bit better,” he said.
Professor K. Srinath Reddy at the Public Health Foundation of India likened the subvariant to one of “several Barbies in the same film” – noting that it was essentially a variation of other Omicron descendants.
EG.5 belongs to a family of subvariants “all within the overall umbrella of Omicron,” he said in an interview. As with other Omicron variants, it is “less invasive and lethal in the body” and “this still remains the general observation,” for EG.5, noted Reddy, a physician.
“It’s clear we’re going to be seeing this particular variant have its own day in the sun or period of dominance for some time before it’s replaced by yet another variant,” he said. “That’s the nature of the virus.”
EG.5, although more infectious, is not more virulent, and the response to it is generally the same as for other variants because “the impact on the human body is just about the same,” he added.
The symptoms for this subvariant remain common to the coronavirus in general and can range from mild effects to more-serious illness.
