New variant could become dominant

A new COVID variant could become dominant globally – although its public health risk is low, the World Health Organization has warned.

It has now declared the variant EG.5 – or Eris – as a variant of interest, calling on countries to step up surveillance for the variant.

WHO reports that EG.5 carries an additional F456L amino acid mutation in the spike protein compared to the parent XBB.1.9.2 subvariant and XBB.1.5. Its subvariant EG.5.1 has an additional spike mutation Q52H and represents 88% of the available sequences for EG.5, WHO says.

By the end of July Eris represented 17.4% of identified cases globally. China has reported 2,247 cases and the USA 1,356 sequences. The UK has reported 150 cases.

WHO reported: “Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level.

“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date.”

It added: “Due to its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, EG.5 may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally.”

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