<p>A new strain of coronavirus has been labelled as a 'variant of interest' by the World Health Organisation, although the officials have predicted a low public health risk.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The variant, which is known as EG.5 or “Eris”, is connected to an Omicron subvariant called XBB.1.9.2, and has been increasing its prevalence globally, and countries like the UK, China and the United States are emerging as the most affected.</p>

<p>However, the WHO has further stated that the variant is not posing any particular threat. “Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level,” said the agency, stating that the risk looked to be at part with other circulating variants of interest.</p>

<p>“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date,” the WHO stated.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-variant-eris-on-rise-in-uk-as-experts-say-country-flying-blind-on-infection-622835">Covid variant 'Eris' on rise in UK, as experts say country ‘flying blind’ on infection</a></p>

<h2><strong>Variant better at evading body's immune system: WHO&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Professor of operational research at University College London, Christina Pagel, said that although the variant has been increasing in prevalence and seems to be better at evading the body's immune system which permits it to outcompete other variants, there is a lack of evidence that it can cause more severe disease.</p>

<p>“It will probably cause a wave of more cases and all the problems that brings – [such as] more hospitalisations and Long Covid – but [there is] no reason at the moment to think [that will be] worse than previous waves this year,” she stated.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pagel stated that the waning immunity due to previous infections or vaccinations may mean that the wave of EG.5 took longer to peak and hence, it may be larger.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last week published an update which suggested EG.5, and more specifically its subvariant EG5.1 accounts for around 15 per cent of sequenced COVID-19 cases in England.</p>

<p>Deputy director of UKHSA, Dr Meera Chand, said that the new variants' emergence is not unexpected. “UKHSA continues to analyse available data relating to Sars-CoV-2 variants in the UK and abroad. 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," she said.</p>

<p>“Vaccination remains our best defence against future Covid-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come to take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible," added Chand.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH |&nbsp;Gravitas: New Covid variant 'Eris' spreading across the UK</strong></p>

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<h2><strong>US sees rise in EG.5 cases&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Cases of new COVID-19 variant EG.5 are on the rise in the United States and are leading to around 17 per cent of the new coronavirus cases in the country in comparison to 16 per cent for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, as per the latest estimates presented by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, reported CNN.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Professor of microbiology and immunology Dr David Ho has been carrying out tests of these variants in his lab at Columbia University to understand their resistance to the antibodies&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Both are only slightly more resistant to neutralising antibodies in the serum of infected and vaccinated persons. It basically has some more immune escape compared to the ones that were precedents in this XBB series," stated Dr Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Translational Research Institute. "It has an advantage, which is why it's getting legs all around the world," he added.&nbsp;</p>

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A new strain of coronavirus has been labelled as a 'variant of interest' by the World Health Organisation, although the officials have predicted a low public health risk.

A new strain of coronavirus has been labelled as a 'variant of interest' by the World Health Organisation, although the officials have predicted a low public health risk. The variant, which is known as EG.5 or “Eris”, is connected to an Omicron subvariant called XBB.1.9.2, and has been increasing its prevalence globally, and countries like the UK, China and the United States are emerging as the most affected. However, the WHO has further stated that the variant is not posing any particular threat. “Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level,” said the agency, stating that the risk looked to be at part with other circulating variants of interest. “While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date,” the WHO stated. ALSO READ | Covid variant 'Eris' on rise in UK, as experts say country ‘flying blind’ on infection Variant better at evading body's immune system: WHO Professor of operational research at University College London, Christina Pagel, said that although the variant has been increasing in prevalence and seems to be better at evading the body's immune system which permits it to outcompete other variants, there is a lack of evidence that it can cause more severe disease. “It will probably cause a wave of more cases and all the problems that brings – [such as] more hospitalisations and Long Covid – but [there is] no reason at the moment to think [that will be] worse than previous waves this year,” she stated. Pagel stated that the waning immunity due to previous infections or vaccinations may mean that the wave of EG.5 took longer to peak and hence, it may be larger. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last week published an update which suggested EG.5, and more specifically its subvariant EG5.1 accounts for around 15 per cent of sequenced COVID-19 cases in England. Deputy director of UKHSA, Dr Meera Chand, said that the new variants' emergence is not unexpected. “UKHSA continues to analyse available data relating to Sars-CoV-2 variants in the UK and abroad. 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," she said. “Vaccination remains our best defence against future Covid-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come to take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible," added Chand. WATCH | Gravitas: New Covid variant 'Eris' spreading across the UK US sees rise in EG.5 cases Cases of new COVID-19 variant EG.5 are on the rise in the United States and are leading to around 17 per cent of the new coronavirus cases in the country in comparison to 16 per cent for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, as per the latest estimates presented by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, reported CNN. Professor of microbiology and immunology Dr David Ho has been carrying out tests of these variants in his lab at Columbia University to understand their resistance to the antibodies "Both are only slightly more resistant to neutralising antibodies in the serum of infected and vaccinated persons. It basically has some more immune escape compared to the ones that were precedents in this XBB series," stated Dr Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Translational Research Institute. "It has an advantage, which is why it's getting legs all around the world," he added. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

WHO designates new Covid strain ‘Eris’ as 'variant of interest' amid global surge in cases

<p>The variant of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a> that has wreaked havoc in India has been found in dozens of other countries all around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday.</p>

<p>As per the UN health agency, the B.1.617&nbsp;variant of coronavirus, which was first identified in India in October, has been detected in more than 4,500 samples from "44 countries in all six WHO regions" through an open-access database.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/risk-for-erectile-dysfunction-six-fold-higher-in-men-with-covid-19-384317" hreflang="en">Risk for erectile dysfunction six-fold higher in men with COVID-19</a></strong></p>

<p>The agency has also "received reports of detections from five additional countries", WHO updated.</p>

<p>This has been announced a few hours after the WHO labelled this variant as a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-lists-covid-strain-first-detected-in-india-as-variant-of-concern-384201">"variant of concern"</a> and has been added to the list of the deadly variants along with the ones found in Brazil and the UK. These three variants are being labelled to be more dangerous than the original version of the deadly virus that broke out towards the end of 2019.</p>

<p>After India, the B.1.617 variant has been majorly found in the UK. It has been added to the list as it seems to be transmitting faster and more easily than the original virus and, thus, hints towards the "rapid increases in prevalence in multiple countries".</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-a-crisis-that-shook-india-383740"><strong>Watch |</strong></a></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-a-crisis-that-shook-india-383740/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>WHO has also warned that this variant might be more resistant to the existing vaccines and treatment with the monoclonal antibody Bamlanivimab. While this is based on preliminary evidence, the WHO stressed that "real-world impacts" on the effectiveness of the existing vaccines might be limited.</p>

<p>Talking about the spread of this variant in India, leading to a covid crisis in the country, the WHO said, "WHO found that resurgence and acceleration of COVID-19 transmission in India had several potential contributing factors, including increase in the proportion of cases of SARS-CoV-2 variants with potentially increased transmissibility."</p>


The variant of coronavirus that has wreaked havoc in India has been found in dozens of other countries all around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday.

The variant of coronavirus that has wreaked havoc in India has been found in dozens of other countries all around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday. As per the UN health agency, the B.1.617 variant of coronavirus, which was first identified in India in October, has been detected in more than 4,500 samples from "44 countries in all six WHO regions" through an open-access database. Also read | Risk for erectile dysfunction six-fold higher in men with COVID-19 The agency has also "received reports of detections from five additional countries", WHO updated. This has been announced a few hours after the WHO labelled this variant as a "variant of concern" and has been added to the list of the deadly variants along with the ones found in Brazil and the UK. These three variants are being labelled to be more dangerous than the original version of the deadly virus that broke out towards the end of 2019. After India, the B.1.617 variant has been majorly found in the UK. It has been added to the list as it seems to be transmitting faster and more easily than the original virus and, thus, hints towards the "rapid increases in prevalence in multiple countries". Watch | WHO has also warned that this variant might be more resistant to the existing vaccines and treatment with the monoclonal antibody Bamlanivimab. While this is based on preliminary evidence, the WHO stressed that "real-world impacts" on the effectiveness of the existing vaccines might be limited. Talking about the spread of this variant in India, leading to a covid crisis in the country, the WHO said, "WHO found that resurgence and acceleration of COVID-19 transmission in India had several potential contributing factors, including increase in the proportion of cases of SARS-CoV-2 variants with potentially increased transmissibility."

Covid variant first detected in India found in 44 other countries: WHO

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WHO designates new Covid strain ‘Eris’ as 'variant of interest' amid global surge in cases

Covid variant first detected in India found in 44 other countries: WHO