A new coronavirus subvariant on the rise in some parts of the world is an example of how the virus will continue to evolve, some experts say. But while this latest coronavirus strain, EG.5, appears to be more infectious and able to sneak past our immune defences, experts aren't seeing evidence that it causes more severe illness.
that testing positivity has increased from about five per cent to nearly seven per cent within one month. In recent weeks, the United States has also seen a jump in cases and hospitalizations. The WHO said Japan and the Republic of Korea have observed EG.
5 cases and hospitalization metrics both rising, though "no associations" have been made yet between the subvariant and hospitalization rates. "However, due to its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, EG.5 may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally," the WHO noted.EG.5, is a subvariant of Omicron — which remains the most common version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Canada. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, says Omicron is like the "great grandparents" of all the subvariants that have followed. "They are all essentially Omicron — you can think of it as like a family and they're the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren in this family," she said. Dr. Caroline Colijn, a mathematician and epidemiologist at Simon Fraser University, told CBC News in an email that EG.5's mutations likely make it more infectious than the previous Omicron XBB subvariants. Colijn, a member of an interdisciplinary team of researchers called the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network , suspects that there could be a rise in EG.5 in the fall, but she doesn't anticipate a "huge fall wave." She says that because there's still a lot of immunity, EG.5 is not suspected to be more severe than other subvariants.Right now, it's unclear whether the subvariant causes any unfamiliar symptoms that haven't already been documented by other Omicron offshoots. "It doesn't seem as if it's causing, you know, an increase in severity of illness or ... impacting the current vaccines and therapeutics," said Madad, who is also the senior director of the system-wide special pathogens program at New York City Health and Hospitals. "Based on the available evidence, the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level," the WHO noted in its risk evaluation. "While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date."According to the email from PHAC, EG.5 subvariants have been found across the country, though the agency didn't specify where. PHAC says its scientists are "actively monitoring and evaluating EG.5 lineages," and that they are "looking for signs that EG.5 lineages would change disease severity or spread, or impact the effectiveness of diagnostic tests, vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.", has found that the subvariant is in Canada and it's becoming eight per cent more frequent every day, according to Colijn. As of Monday, more than 7,300 sequences of EG.5 have been reported from 51 countries, the WHO said in its risk evaluation, with the most sequences found in China, the U.S., the Republic of Korea, Japan and here in Canada. University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen says COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe illness and also decrease the chances of contracting the virus.— meaning they will specifically target the Omicron family of sub-lineages.Since EG.5 is an Omicron descendant, Dr. Prabhat Jha, a scientist at Unity Health Toronto, says the boosters coming out this fall should also work to protect against this new subvariant. "I'm reasonably confident that we're not looking at a new, new variant that is so different that the vaccines wouldn't provide protection against that," said Jha. Even if the vaccine coming out isn't a specific match for EG.5, Rasmussen says there's enough data showing that variant specific boosters can have a broad effect. Dr. Prabhat Jha is a professor of global health at the University of Toronto and a scientist at Unity Health Toronto. Since EG.5 is an Omicron descendant, Jha says the boosters coming out this fall should also work to protect against it. While she said it won't "completely prevent infection," she noted that it still "provides really strong protection against hospitalization, death and some studies are suggesting long COVID as well." For people most at risk — those who are elderly, immunocompromised or have a chronic health issue — Jha says it's best to speak with your family doctor about whether you should get the booster that is currently available or wait to get the fall one.Mask in crowded indoor places.Take an at-home test to know when to stay home. "I think we know how to live with this virus, but living with the virus means not indifference, but prudence," said Jha. "And making sure that we use all the tools that we have."Jennifer La Grassa is a videojournalist at CBC Windsor. She is particularly interested in reporting on healthcare stories. Have a news tip? Email jennifer.lagrassa@cbc.ca
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