He is always there. While Covid-19 is no longer making headlines, a new variant is showing up and would already be at the origin of an upsurge in cases of contamination this summer.
A sub-variant of Omicron
The EG.5 strain, baptized “Eris”, is even already the majority in France. This is once more a sub-variant of Omicron. It is present in some 35% of the analyzesmore than any other variant.
“In all age groups and especially in adults, we are seeing an increase in visits, in small numbers, for suspected Covid-19 infection (+26% or +149 visits)”, assures Public Health France in its last information bulletin, on August 2.
Placed under surveillance by the WHO, a new wave in the fall?
If the health emergency declared by the World Health Organization ended last May, the numbers are worrying enough for the WHO to place “Eris” under surveillance.
According to Forbes, this new variant is also the cause of a sharp increase in contamination in England and the United States.
“We may have to deal with a new early wave this fall, without it necessarily being more substantial than those of the last twelve months”, explains Professor Antoine Flahault, quoted by our colleagues from TF1.
What symptoms and what contagiousness?
Among the most common symptoms referenced are: sore throat, runny nose, dry cough, headache, wet cough, stuffy nose, hoarse voice, sneezing, muscle aches and also the alteration of the smell. Specifically, the main symptoms are similar to those of Omicron. However, shortness of breath and fever are not among them.
Still according to Prof. Flahault, “Eris seems more transmissible than XBB variants” but that “it is not associated with any particular symptomatology or virulence”.
“People at risk of severe forms are still immunocompromised people and the very elderly. To date, no vaccine escape concerning severe forms has been reported either”, he concludes.
