On August 9th, the World Health Organization (hereinafter referred to as "WHO") announced that novel coronavirus mutant EG.5 was upgraded from a "need to monitor" mutant to a "need to pay attention to" mutant. The prevalence of this mutant has been rising steadily. However, WHO said that the risk of EG.5 to public health is low, and there is no evidence that it will cause more serious diseases than other popular variants.
The way this virus enters human cells and tissues is also similar to XBB. 1.5 and other Omicron variants. On social media, the screen name has named the mutant "Eris" according to the Greek alphabet, but this has not been officially recognized by WHO.
Since the beginning of July, there have been more and more cases of COVID-19 infection caused by EG.5 On July 19, WHO listed it as a "species that needs monitoring". Up to August 7th, 7354 EG.5 gene sequences from 5 1 countries have been uploaded to GISAID, including the United States, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Britain, France, Portugal and Spain.
In the latest assessment, WHO mentioned EG.5 and its closely related variants, including EG.5. 1. According to the data of British Health and Safety Bureau, among the cases of COVID-19 found in hospitals, EG.5. 1 accounts for about one seventh. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that EG.5 has been prevalent in the United States since April, and now it has caused about 65,438+07% of new infections, surpassing other subtypes in Omicron and becoming the most common variant.
According to the data of the federal health bureau, the number of inpatients in COVID-19 is increasing all over the United States. In the last week, the number of inpatients increased by 12.5%, reaching 9056.
Introduction to EG.5
According to the WHO statement, the global public health risk is considered to be low, which is consistent with the risk brought by XBB. 1. 16 and other "need to pay attention" variants currently circulating. But it may be more contagious. According to WHO, although EG.5 has been proved to lead to an increase in the prevalence rate, growth advantage and immune escape, so far there is no report of an increase in the severity of infection in COVID-19.
WHO emphasizes that this growth advantage and immune escape characteristics mean that, with the passage of time, EG.5 may lead to an increase in cases and occupy a dominant position in some countries and even the world. EG.5 causes the same symptoms as other COVID-19 strains, such as sore throat, runny nose, cough, stuffy nose, fever, fatigue, physical pain and possible loss of taste or smell.
According to Washington post) 10/0, Thomas Russo, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine of the State University of New York at Buffalo, said that these symptoms seemed to be the same as those caused by other COVID-19 strains. Symptoms such as runny nose, headache, fatigue, sore throat and sneezing are common.
Older people, people with impaired immune system or many other diseases are at higher risk of more serious effects, which may include lower respiratory diseases, chest pain and shortness of breath. In the United States, the virus still kills hundreds of people every week. Therefore, if you think you may be infected with this strain, it is very important to detect it in time.