Eris | EG.5, a new interesting variant of Covid-19 behind the increase in cases: symptoms | Corona Virus | WHO | the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) This week it designated a new variant of Covid-19 as a “variant of interest”.

Its scientific name is EG.5Although it is colloquially known ErisThe WHO follows the tradition of using the Greek nomenclature, despite not officially calling it that.

WATCH: “It’s like the apocalypse”: Impressive images of Hawaii fire that killed at least 67 people

This variation is assocd Omicron subvariant XBB.1.9.2And, according to the WHO, its prevalence is increasing worldwide, particularly in countries such as the United States, China, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“The COVID-19 virus has not gone away, and we expect to see it spread more widely in the winter months, and the number of sick people is increasing,” said Mary Ramsey, director of public health programs for New York State Health Care. agency. United Kingdom.

Globally, during the week of July 17-23, for example, The prevalence of Eris is 17.4%..

“This is a significant increase compared to data four weeks earlier (June 19 to 25), when the global prevalence was 7.6%,” says the WHO.

High infection, no high intensity

Although cases are increasing, it should be noted that this is a variant that does not pose a particular risk to public health.

And despite that Also avoid infection and immunity, Does not cause more fatal disease compared to other types.

“Although EG.5 has shown increased proliferation, growth benefit and immune-evasion properties, there has been no change in disease severity to date,” the WHO document says.

symptoms

Eris symptoms are not very different from the covid symptoms we are already used to and can vary in severity: from mild to severe.

Adds Fever or chills, headache, general muscle or body pain, shortness of breath, as well as loss of taste or smell.

This also leads to Cough, sneeze and runny nose.

The problem is that these symptoms can easily be confused with the flu, and now that screening is almost non-existent, it’s very easy to get infected without recognizing the disease.

Sec It assesses that current vaccines and boosters work safelyExperts recommend continuing this strategy, as well as behaviors learned during the pandemic, such as wearing masks, especially in crowded environments, and continuous ventilation in closed environments.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently noted that while people are now better protected by vaccines and earlier pandemics, “countries should not let their guard down.”

“We urge the governments Do not remove The systems they have developed for Covid-19,” he added.

So far, Covid-19 has killed more than 6.9 million people worldwide, and there have been more than 768 million confirmed cases since the virus first appeared.

The WHO announced the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and ended the global emergency in May this year.