New Covid-19 variant Eris spreads rapidly across UK, know more about it

“Although the number of Covid-19 cases being reported has increased, the disease overall still remains mild and similar to Omicron variants. However, early reports suggest that the Eris variant can have a growth advantage of almost 20 per cent over the previous strains, which means that it can spread faster than the earlier known Omicron strains,” he told indianexpress.com.

Dr Ravi Shankarji Kesari, MD, Internal Medicine, General Physician, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Bengaluru said Eris, a subvariant of Omicron, is also being detected in other countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

“Eris has several mutations that make it different from previous variants of Omicron. These mutations may cause more transmission or be better at evading the immune system,” he said, adding that more research is needed to understand the full impact.

Dr Sabine Kapasi, Public health leader at UNDAC & Geneva mentioned that the transmission of the Eris variant closely resembles that of the original strain of Covid-19. “The primary mode of spread is through respiratory droplets, released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. Additionally, transmission can occur through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, followed by touching the face, particularly the mouth, nose, or eyes. Notably, close contact with asymptomatic carriers poses a significant risk of transmission.”

Who is at risk?

The rise in infections can be attributed to waning immunity from previous infections or vaccinations. (Source: Freepik)

Elderly people above the age of 65 and those with comorbidities are at risk, noted Dr Budhiraja.

However, he said that going by the statistics being reported in the UK, there has only been a very slight increase in hospitalisation and hardly any increase in the number of patients in the ICU, thereby showing that the disease caused by Eris is generally mild.

The rise in infections can be attributed to waning immunity from previous infections or vaccinations.

There are several precautionary measures that people can take to reduce their risk of getting infected with Eris, according to the experts. These include:

*Getting vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19
*Wearing a mask in public indoor settings
*Practicing social distancing
*Washing hands frequently
*Avoiding close contact with people who are sick
*Ensuring proper ventilation in rooms

Dr Budhiraja concluded, “It is very important that one follows Covid-appropriate behaviour. And as far as the country is concerned, if we see an increased number of cases of respiratory illness, the checking of Covid-19 as random sampling should be increased. So far, we have not seen cases of Eris being reported in India.” 

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