The first recorded case of the Covid-19 Eris variant in the country has been detected in a test sample that was taken on 20 June in Gauteng, with the South African Medical Association (SAMA) cautioning that the strain might cause severe symptoms for the immune-compromised and over-65s who are not vaccinated.
The Citizen reports that WHO scientists officially started tracking the EG.5.1 variant, commonly known as Eris, a few weeks ago, classifying it a “variant of interest”.
The novel strain of the Covid-19 virus shares a lineage with the Omicron subvariant known as XBB.1.9.2 and has started popping up in various countries, including the United Kingdom, China and the United States.
The WHO noted that while the variant displays traits like heightened prevalence, growth advantages and immune evasion properties, there had been no reported escalation in disease severity to date.
The WHO’s technical lead, Dr Maria van Kerkhove, said Eris had a higher growth rate than Omicron.
“In terms of its behaviour, we do not detect an increase in severity.”
She said they were seeing “immune escape”, which indicated a higher risk of reinfection for either those who were vaccinated or those who were infected with one of the other variants.
SAMA chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa said Eris could have severe effects on older people, but particularly those who are immune-compromised, unvaccinated, and over 65.
“The resurgence could be due to a winding down of the previous immunity obtained from the vaccine and that people have abandoned public health measures of prevention, as well as increased travel in and out of the country.”
He said viruses mutate to stay alive.
“They mutate and create something new out of the old. To continue living, they need to adapt and change their proteins, so they adapt to the new environment,” he said.
He added that while the Omicron EG.5 strain was more transmissible, it did not show more severe symptoms, but warned South Africa was not out of the woods yet. He urged people with known Covid-19 symptoms to protect those around them.
Supporting his assurances was researcher and virologist Professor Tulio de Oliviera, who said there was no need for South Africans to panic about Eris, and that it did not pose a threat to any group of people.
He told News24 that just because it was a lineage of the Omicron variant did not mean it was new.
“We are alert, but we are not specifically concerned about (EG.5),” he said, adding that South Africa had not seen a fresh wave of Covid-19 related infections since 2022.
While older, and immunocompromised people, ran a higher risk of infection with all Omicron lineages, they should not practise non-pharmaceutical interventions or get vaccinated just because of Omicron EG.5.
“There is no importance with this lineage for people to be extra vaccinated. What we know is that the effectiveness of vaccines will decrease over time. People with comorbidities can get boosters independent of it.”
Earlier this month, The Citizen reported that in the relatively short span of time since its detection in the UK at the end of May, Eris has also become the second-most common strain of the coronavirus in the country after Arcturus.
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Eris already makes up one in seven new cases.
It is also spreading rapidly across Europe, Asia and North America, with Japan saying it is seeing a “ninth wave” of Covid infections.
Globally, Eris accounts for around 20% of Covid sequences in Asia, 10% of sequences from Europe, and 7% in North America.
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