New ‘Eris’ Covid variant in South Africa – what you need to know

South Africa has reported its first case of Covid due to the new Eris subvariant of the virus, with health authorities urging vulnerable South Africans to get vaccinated and to continue standard Covid protocols like wearing masks and sanitising.

The Eris variant, also known as EG.5, is a subvariant of the Omicron Covid-19 virus.

Omicron was first detected in and became the dominant variant in South Africa and many other countries in 2021/2022.

As an Omicron subvariant, Eris is regarded as being highly transmissible but not very deadly, meaning it is likely to spread quickly but won’t be more severe.

The Eris variant is currently spreading and increasingly dominating Covid-related hospitalisations in the United States, Europe and Asia.

According to the Department of Health – speaking to the SABC – the confirmed sample in South Africa was reported in Gauteng.

The National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD) noted that a sample of a sublineage of EG.5 was also detected back in June, but added that there is no indication that its incidence is rising in current testing.

Currently the number of tests and people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa is very low and as a result very few samples have been sequenced. In June 2023, one of the sequenced samples was EG.5.2, a sub-lineage of EG.5. lineage (https://t.co/PPu5BBWRkg).

— NICD (@nicd_sa) August 16, 2023

Do we need to be worried?

Eris was first detected back in 2021 but was only recently declared a variant of interest by the World Health Organisation.

As of August, the variant had been detected in over 50 countries, but is rapidly becoming the dominant virus in countries like the USA, in Europe and in Asia.

According to Wits Professor of Vaccinology, Shabir Madhi, the new Covid variant shouldn’t be anything to get too worried about.

Speaking to the SABC, he said that Eris is more transmissible and may be what experts call “antibody evasive”, but “for all intents and purposes, it is unlikely to cause a surge of severe disease cases in South Africa”.

This is because a large number of people in the country have immunity – either from previous infection or through vaccination.

Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch and the KZN Research Innovation & Sequencing Platform, Professor Tulio de Oliveira, said the EG.5 variant is nothing to be concerned about.

De Oliveira – who alerted the world to Omicron – said that new variants are detected all the time and that the “Eris” designation isn’t an official name given by the World Health Organisation. He cautioned against “crying wolf” over new lineages and variants, warning that it could dull the public’s reception to a more “important” mutation.

The NICD said that “although it has been designated a variant of interest, the WHO considers the variant to be of low public health risk”

What does Eris do?

Eris reportedly has similar symptoms to Omicron, many of which are shared with the flu or common cold. However, they can be more intense.

Symptoms include:

• Runny or stuffy nose
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Coughing
• Changes to sense of smell

Who needs to be alert?

While there may not be an immediate threat, the same warnings and vulnerabilities as during the 2020/21 pandemic apply.

Madhi said that South Africans generally should be in a good position, but anyone with an underlying condition – diabetes, hypertension, and other comorbidities – or who is over the age of 65 should take the necessary precautions.

Anyone who falls into this category is already generally vulnerable to Covid-19, and the new variant is no exception. It is recommended that they get a vaccine or booster shot if they have not done so in the past 12 months.

Madhi noted that a new vaccine has been developed to specifically guard against Omicron sublineages and that should be coming in the next few months.

What should we do?

According to chairperson of the South African Medical Association, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, the South African public at large is also being urged to mask-up – especially if they are experiencing any symptoms – and to wash hands and sanitise frequently to prevent the spread of the new variant.

Speaking to Jacaranda FM, he added that a possible reason for the resurgence right now could be because immunity from the previous vaccines and boosters could be “winding down”.

As such, South Africans are encouraged to go for their vaccines and booster shots to limit the chance of infection.

What happens next?

Madhi said that South Africa has limited its Covid testing, so it is not clear exactly how widespread the new Eris variant may be.

He said that there hasn’t been any change in the number of South Africans being hospitalised due to Covid-19, and in fact, the current influenza season has been far deadlier.

However, if hospitals start noticing a rise in Covid cases, more testing will be done to determine which variant is driving the increase.

The World Health Organisation said that Covid is present and spreading in every country and that more variants and sublineages will continue to emerge as the virus evolves. Eris is among other variants of interest currently being tracked by the WHO.

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