A COVID-19 testing site in Paris, France. Photo: AFP/TTXVN
According to the article, the COVID-19 pandemic has not completely disappeared, with diverse variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus still emerging. Most recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new variant EG.5 as "need to be watched" after this variant was first discovered on February 17.
EG.5.1, also known as Eris, is a sub-variant of the EG.5 lineage that has been identified in 88% of the genetic sequencing results of COVID-19 samples analyzed by researchers. The WHO classified EG.5.1 as a "variant of concern" on August 9, but it is not yet "a cause for concern," and assessed that this sub-variant poses a low risk to global health.
In fact, although this subtype is the majority in France, it has only increased the number of suspected cases. According to an update from the French Ministry of Public Health , as this subtype spreads, the number of visits for suspected COVID-19 is increasing, specifically 25% in the 15-74 age group. However, the ministry noted that the rate of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19 in children has decreased, by 6% and 7% respectively, while the figures have remained stable in adults.
According to WHO, the proportion of cases infected with the EG.5 variant has been steadily increasing globally. The global prevalence of the EG.5 variant is 17.4%, a significant increase from data reported four weeks ago, when the global prevalence of the EG.5 variant was 7.6%. As of August 7, the most affected countries were China (30.6%), the United States (18.4%), and South Korea (14.1%).
WHO assesses the global health risk from Eris as low, stating that to date, there have been no reports of changes in disease severity associated with infection with the Eris subtype. Although there have been concurrent increases in hospitalizations and cases of Eris variants in Japan or South Korea, no link has been established between the two.
However, the WHO also notes that with its increased transmissibility, Eris could increase the incidence of the disease in countries where this subtype is becoming the dominant pathogen. Symptoms remain the same as previous variants: fever, cough, headache, body aches...
In France, the updated results show that the rate of cases infected with the EG.5 strain is 1.6%. However, according to experts, since the end of June, the monitoring of the COVID-19 epidemic has been gradually relaxed, so it is likely that the above indicators do not accurately and closely reflect the actual situation. For example, in the city of Bayonne, since the end of July, pharmacies in the city have reported performing many antigen tests, many of which have been positive.
The analysis of "Le Point" quoted the opinion of retired epidemiologist Catherine Hill, suggesting that since traditional disease monitoring measures have now been relaxed, alternative measures such as relying on the results of wastewater sample analysis can be implemented to monitor the development of the Eris sub-line at low cost.
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