Covid-19: Is the new Eris variant dangerous?

Another new variant. Since the appearance of Covid-19, several variants have been detected, including Omicron, Alpha and Delta. The latest is Eris, officially known as E.G.5.1. This Omicron sub-variant is now very prevalent in several countries, including the UK and France.

This Tuesday, August 8, 2023, a French public health report was published. Read on to find out what it said.

A very prevalent variant

The report shows a drop in emergency room visits and hospitalizations among children (-6% and -7%), and stable figures for adults. However, visits for suspected coronavirus infection are up: +25% in the 15-74 age group. Eris was first detected on February 17, according to a bulletin issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 9.

E.G.5.1. now accounts for 88% of present variants and has been classified as a 'variant of interest' by the WHO. The health organisation explains why:

Worldwide, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of EG.5 reported. In the week [...] from July 17 to 23, 2023, the global prevalence of EG.5 was 17.4%. This is a significant increase on the data reported four weeks earlier, when the global prevalence of EG.5 was 7.6%

A low-risk variant

As of August 7, 2023, the most affected countries were China (30.6%), the USA (18.4%) and South Korea (14.1%). But fortunately, this variant poses a low risk to our health.

'No change in the severity of the disease has been reported to date', said the WHO. The symptoms remain the same as ever: fever, cough, headache, body aches... Even if Eris does not appear to be more dangerous than the other variants, scientists are still calling for vigilance.

This article has been translated fromOh!MyMag France

Read more:

⋙ Covid-19: Picking your nose could increase your chances of catching the disease

⋙ New Covid-19 'Eris' variant is spreading amongst Brits, here is how worried you should be

Sources used:

Le Point: Covid-19 : faut-il s’inquiéter du nouveau variant Eris ?