All about Eris, the new COVID-19 variant

Viruses undergo continuous genetic changes, thus it was inevitable for a fresh SARS-CoV-2 variant to surface. In time, the prevailing strain is EG.5.1, identified as Eris, named after the Greek deity associated with conflict and disagreement. And therefore, last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a variant of interest (MoI), updating its status from Variant under Monitoring (VoM).

Eris represents a distinct sub-variant stemming from the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. This emergence was initially identified in February 2023 and has since exhibited a gradual rise in prevalence across the globe. India recorded it’s first Eris case in May, 2023. As of August 2023, its presence has been detected across more than 55 countries.

Two kinds of variants

According to the WHO, a variant is considered a variant of interest if it has mutations that are suspected or known to cause significant changes, and is circulating widely (known to cause many clusters of infected people, or found in many countries). There are many variants of interest that WHO is continuing to monitor in case they become variants of concern.

A variant of interest becomes a variant of concern if it is known to spread more easily, cause more severe disease, escape the body’s immune response, change clinical presentation, or decrease effectiveness of known tools like public health measures, diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.

The new variant of interest, Eris, displays heightened transmissibility when compared to preceding variants. It also has an advantage in evading the immune responses of the human body. Nevertheless, there exists no substantiated data suggesting that Eris leads to more severe illness than its precursor variants.

Dr Ishwar Gilada, consultant in Infectious Diseases speaking at the 55th Session of International Seminars on Planetary Emergenhttps://apeejay.news/covid-19-pandemic-problems-and-learnings/cies of the World Federation of Scientists at Erice, Sicily, Italy said that at present, we are seeing cases almost in 55 countries like East China, Korea, Japan, the US, and the UK. The session on COVID-19 Global Update was chaired by virologist Dr Franco Buonaguro of Tumour Institute in Naples, Italy.

‘”The good news is that Eris will not negatively impact India. For the last 20 months, Omicron, a variant of SARS-CoV-2, especially it’s BA.2 sub-variant, has been doing rounds in India. Therefore, we have developed a good immunity for BA.2. Any variants or sub-variants coming out of BA. 2 will not affect us adversely,” Dr Gilada explained.

According to media reports, on Monday (August 21, 2023), India documented 54 novel COVID-19 infections, resulting in a reduced active caseload of 1,475 cases. “When we look at the COVID-19 situation globally, the infections are mild. There is no rise in oxygen demand, demand for beds, ICU ventilators, and deaths are very low. Eris is being monitored. It is not a variant of concern, only a variant of interest. There should be no cause of concern till the trajectory points to the fact that people may require oxygen supplementation, hospitalisation that includes ICU and ventilation support,” Dr Gilada said.

He added that variants and sub-variants will keep coming, so the need of the hour is to monitor the situation. “People in India have been vaccinated and developed natural immunity to previous infections; also referred to as hybrid immunity. We also have memory cells which get activated as soon as the body is exposed to attacks by a similar virus or an organism. Once memory cells are activated, our defense system kicks in,” Dr Gilada said and stressed that the only people who need to remain active is the scientific community who can do the genome sequencing or new genome sequencing to keep tabs on new variants.

Does Eris mirror the same symptoms as those of strains of COVID-19?

Symptomatically, Eris mirrors the presentation of other strains of COVID-19. This encompasses manifestations like fever, cough, breathlessness, fatigue, muscular discomfort, headache, throat irritation, and diminished taste or smell.

However, it lacks a distinct therapeutic approach; treatment parallels that of other COVID-19 variations and involves supportive measures like rest, hydration, and non-prescription pain relievers.

How to protect yourself?

The best way to protect yourself and your children from Eris is to get vaccinated and boosted, and wear a mask in public places, including indoor settings. Most importantly, follow hand hygiene.