COVID subvariant EG.5 flagged in Manitoba

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This article was published 09/08/2023 (806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has detected an unknown number of cases of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 to become dominant in the United States.

The EG.5 subvariant was first found in the province last week, when officials investigated samples taken in mid-July, as part of routine variant surveillance, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.

The spokesperson was unable to specify how many cases of EG.5 were detected, saying only it showed up in a portion of the July samples.

“We are just beginning to see cases, but as with other strains, this is not unexpected. The province is carefully monitoring and will provide an update if required,” the spokesperson stated.

EG.5 is a descendant of the XBB.1.9.2 variant, which is a descendant of Omicron. It was first detected in Canada in April, and is now estimated to account for about 19 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The EG.5 subvariant is considered worthy of monitoring by the World Health Organization and hasn’t yet been listed as a variant of concern.

It’s already responsible for most new COVID-19 infections in the United States, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention being relied upon by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The national public health agency stated there have been 36 detections of EG.5 in municipal wastewater across the country May 15-July 21.

“The most prevalent EG.5 lineage — EG.5.1 — is predicted to be circulating in Canada at approximately 19 per cent for the week of July 30 to Aug. 5, 2023. A second EG.5 lineage — EG.5.1.1 — is predicted to be circulating in Canada at approximately 17 per cent for the same time period,” PHAC stated in an email.

The agency said its scientists are actively monitoring EG.5 and its lineages.

“Scientists 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.”

EG.5 is one of seven variants under monitoring by the WHO. Its global prevalence nearly doubled over a four-week period from mid-June to mid-July, to 11.6 per cent from 6.2 per cent.

While the rate of COVID-19 infections are decreasing in many countries, including Canada, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is still causing high rates of infection and death in certain countries, including Brazil, South Korea, and Australia.

The increase in sickness and death is, in part, being driven by the emerging variants, the WHO stated in its most recent weekly COVID-19 update published Aug. 3.

Although the WHO ended its declaration of a worldwide public health emergency for COVID-19 in May, the pandemic hasn’t been declared over.

The WHO is urging countries not to dismantle their COVID-19 surveillance infrastructure, saying: “It is crucial to sustain surveillance and reporting, variant tracking, early clinical care provision, administration of vaccine boosters to high-risk groups, improvements in ventilation, and regular communication.”

Meanwhile, COVID-19 levels across Canada are low to moderate, with most regions reporting stable or increasing trends, according to PHAC.

Wastewater surveillance data show COVID-19 levels have increased slightly in north, west, and south Winnipeg, compared with data from the end of June.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com