France is seeing a slight upsurge in Covid-19 contamination. And Gisaid, a benchmark database for tracking the virus, found the culprit: the Eris variant, or EG.5, of its scientific name. Recently added to the list of variants to be monitored by the World Health Organization, it would now be the most widespread in France, explains Le Figaro.
This strain would now be present in nearly 35% of viruses sequenced in France. A percentage that must be taken “with caution”, warns our colleagues Mircea Sofonea, lecturer at the University of Montpellier, referring to “sampling bias”. It concerns “a limited number of positive tests, knowing that these are also not representative of infections”, he continues.
Here’s the latest variant picture for France. The new EG.5.* “Eris” variant (34%) has been rising quite rapidly during July, and is now dominant over XBB.1.9.* “Hyperion” (22%), XBB.1.16.* “Arcturus” (14%) and XBB.1.5.* “Kraken” (14%). More details:https://t.co/9wVn5KDCmN pic.twitter.com/u0AOISy8Ck
However, these estimates align with those “that we have for other countries”. Like in the United States, where the variant is gaining ground, or in the United Kingdom.
This variant belongs to the Omicron group and the XBB lineage. “This is the XBB sub-line. 1.9, which gained two successive mutations,” adds the researcher. Mutations that would guarantee the variant better transmissibility. Eris “is more advantaged from a transmission point of view and it is also more advantaged from an immune escape point of view,” says Mircea Sofonea. Thanks to these mutations, it is therefore more resistant to antibodies as well as to vaccines. On the other hand, no data on its virulence has been communicated. “There is no signal on that subject,” he continues.
But this variant, which has mutated, is not the only explanation for the increase in cases in France. “There is a conjuncture of factors”, continues the academic: “The immune escape, the gain in contagiousness”, but also “the natural immune decline of the population”. Vaccines or previous infections lose their effectiveness over time. “The context is favorable for the epidemic recovery,” summarizes Mircea Sofonea.
