New Covid variant Eris driving surge in UK was already in India months ago, expert claims

Variant first detected in India in May but hasn’t been found to be drive new cases yet, expert says

Women wear masks as they pass through a crowded street, amidst the spike in Covid-19 cases (EPA)

The new Covid variant Eris that is driving a surge in cases in the UK and has also been found in the US was spotted in India months ago, an expert has claimed, adding that it has so far not shown any signs of a faster spread.

The EG.5.1 variant, commonly known as Eris, was first detected in India in the western state of Maharashtra in May, said Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, the state’s coordinator for genome sequencing and a senior scientist at Pune city’s BJ medical college.

He, however, told The Times of India (ToI) newspaper that the variant did not result in a “significant surge” in cases experienced following its discovery.

“As two months have passed since its detection and [there has been] no significant surge in Covid in June and July, this subvariant has not seemed to make an impact,” Mr Karyakarte told ToI.

“XBB.1.16 and XBB.2.3 [other subvariants of Omicron] are still dominating in Maharashtra,” he said.

An unnamed official quoted by Indian media outlet The Print said the variant had been detected in two places so far – in the cities of Bengaluru and Pune – but no clusters have been detected.

“We have kept a close eye on the genetic features of the emerging virus and its clinical manifestations but so far, there is no reason to worry,” said the official, affiliated with the National Centre for Disease Control, which leads India’s SARS-CoV-2 genomics consortium Insacog.

Even as the new Eris variant has not yet been proven to be driving a surge in India, the number of Covid cases in the country are seeing an uptick in recent weeks.

Covid cases in the state of Maharashtra have increased from 70 at the end of July to 115 on August 6, said the ToI report quoting state health department data.

Another report from the newspaper said around 16 per cent of houses in the state had people experiencing “viral fever” or Covid like symptoms.

The variant has already been responsible for increased hospitalisations in the US and new infections in the UK.

Since its discovery in the country on 31 July in the UK, there have been at least 10 confirmed infections and it is now the second most prevalent variant in the UK, after the Arcturus variant which makes up almost half of all infection cases at 39.4 per cent, according to UKHSA.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in July classified the mutant virus as a “variant under monitoring”.

Concerns in India are also high as the country of 1.4 billion people suffered the second-highest death toll on record during the Covid pandemic, especially during the second Delta variant wave in 2021 which saw hospitals and crematoriums crippled under a load of new cases and deaths.