ALBAWABA - Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that it had detected the country’s first two confirmed cases of the new fast-spreading COVID-19 variant EG.5.2, unofficially nicknamed "Eris", Ahram Online reported.
"The test results from monitoring centers for cases of influenza-like illnesses, acute respiratory diseases, and pneumonia confirm two positive cases of the sublineage of the Omicron variant of COVID-19," the ministry said.
The two individuals have mild symptoms and are showing indications of recovery, according to a statement from the ministry.
According to the ministry, its preventive medicine department is closely monitoring acute respiratory infections across the country to detect disease-causing agents early and identify any changes in infection variables.
According to the ministry, this system comprises routine surveillance of 450 hospitals around the country, and incidences of influenza-like diseases are reported on a regular basis.
These patients' throat and nasal swabs are collected by the preventive medicine department and tested for influenza, COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Furthermore, the ministry is keeping an eye out for influenza-like cases in 12 outpatient clinics and 17 inpatient units.
Islam Anan, an epidemics specialist and a pharma economics lecturer at Misr International University (MIU), said there is no evidence that the current sub-variant EG.5 is any more severe or dangerous than its predecessors. However, it still has areas of divergence.
"What distinguishes the new variant is its higher transmissibility and increased ability to evade vaccines," he told Ahram Online.
