A new COVID-19 variant has emerged. Here's what we know about EG.5 so far

A new COVID-19 variant has emerged, serving as a reminder that the coronavirus continues to mutate and spread around the world, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.

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The variant is called EG.5 and is a descendant of Omicron.

The World Health Organization (WHO) added EG.5 to its list of currently circulating variants that are under monitoring on July 19.

To date, cases associated with the new variant have been reported in the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere.

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that EG.5 makes up approximately 14.6 per cent — or one in seven — of all COVID-19 cases in the U.K.

• WATCH: Expert says Canada will see rise in cases by late August

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that EG.5 accounted for roughly 17.3 per cent — or one in six — of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in the past two weeks.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at University Health Network in Toronto, said he expects cases of EG.5 to pop up in Canada soon, if they aren’t already.

“It's probably everywhere and if it isn't everywhere, it'll be everywhere,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Monday.

Bogoch said he expects the presence of EG.5 will “very likely” be similar to what was observed with other sublineages of Omicron, with the latest variant gradually becoming the most dominant sublineage around the world.

“We saw a BA.2, we saw a BA.4 and BA.5, we saw an XBB and now it's EG.5, so the virus continues to mutate and we're gonna see waxing and waning of the virus in the community,” he said.

“Of course, we have measures to detect it, and probably in August or sometime in September, we'll start to see a corresponding rise of wastewater signals in Canada.”

• Tracking coronarvirus in wastewater across Canada

As the past few years have shown, COVID-19 has a disproportionate impact on certain groups, Bogoch said, adding that EG.5 will probably be no different.

“Like we’ve seen in the Omicron era and even before the Omicron era, COVID will disproportionately impact certain cohorts,” he said.

“So sadly, we’re going to see, probably, a corresponding rise in hospitalizations, especially among people who are more susceptible to severe illness — those are older people and people with underlying medical conditions.”

Some of the best defences against COVID-19 have been and continue to be masks, vaccination and good ventilation or air quality in indoor spaces, Bogoch stressed.

“So we have the tools, we've known about this for years and there's really nothing new,” he added. 

EG.5 has been referred to as Eris by some, but the WHO revised its COVID-19 naming system earlier this year, deciding to assign nicknames or Greek alphabet labels only for variants of concern such as Delta and Omicron and no longer for variants of interest or under monitoring.