Hyderabad: Doctors dismissed the latest Covid-19 variant Eris, or EG.5.1, as being a serious cause for concern even as it continues to spread rapidly in the UK, raising public fears of a new outbreak.
They said that EG.5.1 was a subvariant of the Omicron variant, with similar symptoms and less severity.
Dr Monalisa Sahu, infectious diseases consultant, said, “The symptoms are similar to that of Omicron and not very severe. Eris is less severe than the Delta variant… it is not something we need to worry about and no significant cases have been reported in India. Common symptoms of Eris are runny nose, headaches, sore throat, fatigue, cough and occasional fever. However, we should not be letting down our guard, and continue to follow Covid-19 protocols, which usually go for a toss when the surge subsides.”
Dr Sahu advised the public to go for the influenza vaccine to boost immunity, given the seasonal diseases that spike during monsoon.
The WHO categorised Eris as a ‘variant under monitoring’, which means that it has not become a variant of concern like the Delta.
Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, the president of the Infection Control Academy of India and public health policy advisor, said that spikes and outbreaks in variants were a natural process.
Dr Ranga Reddy Burri said, “None of the viruses and variants that come into circulation ever go out of circulation and will always be in the reservoir. Viruses are bound to reignite and proliferate. Eris is a subvariant of Omicron and will have 90 per cent similarity with the mother variant of Omicron and will not have much of a trigger as Omicron itself has been less virulent in terms of serious illnesses or deaths. There has been no local outbreak or a wave of Eris since it was traced in India in May. The transmission dynamics of Eris is very slow, unlike Delta or Omicron.”
Dismissing the need to press the panic button, he said it was critical to continue with the surveillance, especially genome sequencing and wastewater sequencing, so that any new variant that may emerge after Omicron could be identified at the earliest.
As per the state-wise statistics of Covid-19 provided by the health ministry, Telangana has two Covid cases as of Tuesday.
Doctors stressed on following Covid-19 protocols of hand hygiene, use of sanitisers, mask discipline, social distancing and isolation. They also advised people with co-morbid conditions to take further precautions.
Dr Anish Ananad, internal medicine consultant, said, “Over the past two years, most people have developed immunity to Covid-19 and have also been vaccinated. The symptoms of Eris are less severe and there is nothing to worry about.”
