SI’m talking about Covid again, although without any alarmism because compared to the first variants, the virus seems to have weakened a lot. But with the contagion curve which, having stopped for some time, has begun to rise again, the issue is also rekindled.
Covid, Eris variant: attention rises again
What keeps our attention high is the new EG.5 variant, called Eris, which is rapidly spreading globally and has growing numbers in Italy too. It is said to be more aggressive, affecting the lungs more, however news always follows with a bit of confusion.
Let’s think about clarifying things a bit an analysis of the study group of the University of Insubria coordinated by Professor Fabio Angeli And published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine.
A mutation that alerts scholars
Researchers, investigated how much and how the EG.5 variant has changed, which the World Health Organization designated on August 9 as a new variant “of concern” of SARS-CoV-2. The goal was to understand what it could be its contribution to the increase in infections and the hospitalization and mortality rate observed in recent weeks globally.
New research on the Eris variant explains why it should be kept an eye on
It escapes the defenses of the antibodies produced by vaccines
I study evaluated the effect of a particular mutation (F456L) occurred at the level of the Spike protein of the virus. This would give the variant a greater ability to escape the defenses produced by antibodies generated both by previous infections and by vaccines.
The conclusions the researchers reached would also explain why this variantalready present in at least 40% of the sequences, is becoming dominant in Italy. The results that emerged were that this new mutation makes EG.5 maintain the same functional and transmission capabilities of the previous Omicron variants that have dominated the pandemic scenario in recent months.
Because it’s becoming dominant
«Compared to the previous and feared Omicron variants, EG.5 – comments Professor Fabio Angeli – has greater resistance to antibodies and an unaltered transmission and binding capacity to our cells. And this is what would explain the increase in indicators. That is to say the number of positive cases, the occupancy rate of intensive care beds, deaths and the rate of swab positivity, even in our country.”
But the results obtained also explain why «this variant is becoming dominant, fading hopes that the new variants, including Eris, may become less widespread over time.” For this reason, concludes Angeli, «now more than ever it is important continue to study and monitor the spread of the variants of the virus, also to direct future preventive strategies”.
Aggressiveness of the Eris variant: virologists divided
Virologists are divided on the aggressiveness of Eris, i.e. that it affects the lungs deeper than stopping at the upper respiratory tract, as happened in the initial phases of the Covid pandemic. For Fabrizio Pregliasco, virologist, director of the Galeazzi Institute in Milan, «Caution is needed. Because at the moment what we can say with certainty about the Eris variant is that it is immunoevasive.”
Anthony FauciOn the other hand, a virologist and former White House advisor for the fight against the pandemic, is more calm. Hearing what the experts say, in fact, he is convinced that «there will not be a new tsunami of hospitalizations and deaths as happened over a year ago.”
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