Publisher Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new sub-variant of Covid called EG.5 – unofficially named “Eris” – a variant of interest and is asking countries to monitor it as cases grow globally.

But the organisation says it poses a low risk to public health, with no evidence that it causes more severe disease than other variants circulating at the moment.

Ever since it first emerged, Covid has been mutating or shape-shifting and becoming incrementally different. The new genetic versions that keep appearing are called variants.

EG.5 is another off-shoot of the Omicron variant of Covid. According to the WHO, it was first seen in February 2023 and cases have been increasing steadily.

It has been dubbed Eris on social media – also the name of a goddess in Greek mythology.

The unofficial nickname may follow on from the WHO convention of using letters of the Greek alphabet to assign, “simple, easy-to-say labels” for key variants.

The WHO naming system arose after experts agreed scientific names were difficult to remember and prone to misreporting. It was also intended to stop variants being named after the countries they were first spotted in.

In its latest assessment, the WHO includes EG.5 and sub-variants very closely related to it, including 5G.5.1.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 5G.5.1 now makes up about one in seven cases of Covid picked up by hospital tests.

Dr Meera Chand, the agency’s deputy director, said “it was not unexpected” to see new variants emerge.

She continued: “EG.5.1 was designated as a variant on 31 July 2023 due to continued growth internationally and presence in the UK, allowing us to monitor it through our routine surveillance processes.”

Cases of EG.5 are also rising in the US, where it has narrowly surpassed other circulating omicron sub-variants, according to estimates published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Based on the available evidence, WHO officials say there is no suggestion the sub-variant is causing more severe disease and the risks are no higher than other current variants of interest.

Some tests suggest it can evade our immune systems more easily than some circulating variants but this has not been translated into people becoming more seriously ill.

In the UK, there has been a small increase in people in hospital in recent weeks, particularly those aged over 85, but experts say the numbers remain lower than previous waves. There has been no increase in people severely unwell in intensive care.

Experts around the world will continue to monitor the sub-variant and assess its impact, particularly as schools and universities reopen.

According to the WHO, infections have been reported in 51 countries, including China, the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the UK, France, Portugal and Spain.

Experts say there is no evidence to suggest it causes any new Covid symptoms.

Symptoms of Covid can include:

As with other Covid variants, the risk of serious illness remains highest for people who are elderly or have significant underlying health conditions.

UKHSA officials say vaccination remains the “best defence against future Covid waves, so it is still as important as ever that people take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible”.

People eligible for Covid vaccines this winter include all adults aged 65 and over, adults living in care homes and a number of people who have health conditions that put them at increased risk.

The WHO says it continues to assess the impact of variants on the performance of vaccines to inform decisions on updates to vaccine composition.

UKHSA experts recommend regular handwashing and staying away from others where possible if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness.