New Covid-19 variant EG.5 cases rise is US, other countries
New Covid-19 variant: US on Covid alert as new Covid-19 variant EG.5 is on the rise in the US.
As per the data, the variant is causing about 17 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases in the country compared to 16 per cent for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The new variant is a spinoff of the XBB recombinant strain of the Omicron family.
EG.5, compared to its parent XBB.1.9.2, has one extra mutation to its spike, at position 465. This mutation has appeared in other coronavirus variants before. Scientists are still not aware what the new mutation enables the virus to do.
The 465 mutation is present in about 35 per cent of coronavirus sequences reported worldwide, including another that’s rising in prevalence in the Northeast, FL.1.5.1, suggesting that it is conveying some kind of evolutionary advantage over previous versions, as per sources.
EG.5 now has its own offshoot, EG.5.1, that adds a second mutation to the spike. That one is also spreading rapidly.
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The symptoms of EG.5 are similar to the viruses that came before them.
EG.5 is also growing quickly in Ireland, France, the UK, Japan and China. The World Health Organization on Wednesday upgraded its status from a variant under monitoring to a variant of interest, a move that signals the agency thinks it should be tracked and studied further.
- ANI
