The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has officially announced that the new sub-variants of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known as EG.5 and BA.2.86, have not been detected within the country.
In a press release issued on Saturday and endorsed by Director General Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, the NCDC clarified that these emerging subvariants have not surfaced within Nigeria.
The NCDC Statement: The press release excerpt conveys:
“Our influenza sentinel surveillance sites continue to provide information on COVID-19 prevalence in patients with influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory illness,” “We have not observed any increase in trend of COVID-19 in this patient group. We continue to carry out genomics surveillance even with the low testing levels and encourage testing locations in states to ensure their positive samples are sent on to the NCDC for sequencing.” “Unrelated to the news of these emerging variants, the NCDC and partners are working on implementing an enhanced COVID-19 testing exercise in four states to obtain complementary and more detailed information about circulating variants in the country. In addition, COVID-19 rapid diagnostic kits are being distributed for the purpose of improving bi-directional COVID-19 testing.” The NCDC also emphasized that there is no reason for undue anxiety and panic among the populace.
“There is no need to cause unnecessary anxiety and panic. As we have consistently advised, COVID-19 is here to stay and is now mainly a problem for those at high risk – the elderly, those with underlying chronic illnesses, especially hypertension, and diabetes, those on cancer treatment, organ transplant recipients and those whose immune systems are suppressed for one reason or the other.”
Global Status of the New Variant: On August 9, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified EG.5, a descendant lineage of XBB.1.9.2, and its sub-lineages as a variant of interest.
EG.5, a sublineage of the Omicron variant, has been identified in 51 countries including significant ones such as China, the United States, Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain.
EG.5 shares symptoms with other COVID-19 variants, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, and sore throat.
The WHO’s assessment of risk indicates that the EG.5 variant poses a low global risk.
Within Africa, EG.5 has been reported in only one case so far, and it has not been identified in Nigeria. While BA.2 has been detected in Nigeria in the past, the BA.2.86 variant has not been identified within the country, according to the NCDC.
