Concerns have heightened due to recent reports about the global spread of a new COVID-19 variant, EG.5. Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population has officially announced the positive detection of two cases of the Omicron variant EG-5.2. These cases presented mild symptoms and are currently recovering.
The ministry’s preventive medicine sector implements a rigorous system to monitor severe respiratory diseases throughout Egypt. The goal is early detection of disease causes and any variations in infection rates. This system is applied across 450 hospitals nationally, where regular reports on flu-like symptoms, severe respiratory illnesses, and pneumonia are documented. Throat and nasal swabs are taken from qualifying cases for influenza, COVID-19, and other respiratory virus tests.
Specifically, the ministry applies monitoring programs at selected sites across various Egyptian hospitals. This includes surveillance of flu-like diseases in outpatient clinics, currently practiced in 12 medical facilities, and tracking severe respiratory diseases in in-patient departments, applied in 17 medical establishments. Routine swab samples from the throat and nose are tested for influenza, COVID-19, and other respiratory viruses.
The Ministry of Health and Population emphasized that symptoms related to the EG-5.2 variant are mild. There are no medical recommendations for additional measures at this time. Current medical advice still prioritizes receiving booster shots, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with chronic illnesses or conditions that weaken the immune system. Other preventive measures include regular hand and surface sanitization, wearing masks in poorly ventilated or crowded areas, isolation for those showing respiratory symptoms, and maintaining good nutrition. The ministry continually monitors both the global and local epidemiological situation.
In light of the global Omicron variant outbreak and its pandemic status, Egypt addresses such epidemics through its Epidemic and Pandemic Response Law. This allows the Epidemic and Pandemic Crisis Management Committee, established by law, to take all necessary measures, based on decisions issued by its head.
The EG.5 (Eris) variant is a descendant of the XBB sublineage and is now emerging as the dominant COVID-19 strain globally.
The EG.5 variant has been designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to a surge in cases across multiple countries.
According to the WHO, the global prevalence of the EG.5 variant has risen to 17.4 percent of total COVID-19 cases, compared to 7.6 percent at the end of June.
While successful vaccination campaigns have contributed to a decline in the virus, the WHO reported over 1 million newly reported COVID-19 cases worldwide within a 28-day period ending on August 3.
During that same period, the virus claimed the lives of more than 3,100 people, bringing the total death toll since the outbreak in February 2020 to 6.9 million.
Islam Anan, an epidemics specialist and pharma economics lecturer at Misr International University (MIU), stated that there is currently no evidence suggesting that the EG.5 sub-variant is more severe or dangerous than previous variants. However, it does exhibit some differences.
Anan explained that the distinguishing features of the new variant are its higher transmissibility and increased ability to evade vaccines.
Note: The information in this paraphrased version has been rewritten to avoid plagiarism while maintaining the key points of the original article.
Notably, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday its surveillance of a newly identified lineage of the COVID-19 virus named BA.2.86. This lineage has already been identified in the U.S., Denmark, and Israel, according to a CDC update shared on messaging platform X.
Despite the emerging information about BA.2.86, the CDC maintains its current guidance on COVID-19 prevention measures.
Earlier the same day, the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized BA.2.86 as a “variant under monitoring” due to its extensive mutation count. As of now, only several sequences of this variant have been identified in a limited number of countries.
