The cases of covid-19 detected worldwide increased by 80% in the last month, although Mortality fell by 57%, according to data from the World Health Organization published this Friday.
These figures coincide with a perceptible increase in the circulation of a new variant of the virus in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom or France, in the middle of boreal summer.
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Between July 10 and August 6, about 1.5 million cases were reported, an increase of 80% compared to the previous 28 days, explained the weekly summary of the WHO. The number of deaths fell by 57%, and stood at 2,500.
The WHO warned that all these figures do not reflect the real situation, since diagnostic tests and monitoring of the pandemic have plummeted.
In the western Pacific region, infections have increased by 137% in the last month, the agency added.
The health authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, India or Japan have also announced increases in cases, although more moderate.
A virus that keeps mutating
The WHO declared in early May that the pandemic was no longer a global health emergency. But its CEO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Wednesday that “The virus continues to circulate in all countries, it continues to kill and it continues to change.”
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Its version EG.5, nicknamed Eris by some scientists, is currently the most analyzed because it could be responsible for the regrowth.
More than 17% of reported covid-19 cases in mid-July were attributed to EG.5, compared with 7.6% the previous month, according to the WHO. In addition to the concentrations of people because of the holidays, decreased immunity may also play a role, some experts say.
The EG.5 version is a subvariant of the omicron family, which in turn is part of the XBB strain. It seems more transmissible than others in circulation, probably due to new genetic mutations.
“It has been identified in India, but also in other Asian countries, North America and Europe, where it tends to supplant earlier dominant variants,” Antoine Flahault, director of the University of Geneva’s Institute for Global Health, told AFP.
“This variant does not seem to cause specific symptoms or particular virulence, wherever it has been detected,” he explained. “Available evidence does not suggest that EG.5 poses additional public health risks,” But “the risk of a more dangerous variant emerging remains,” Tedros warned.
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“The fog is thick on the epidemiological situation around the world. It is urgent that the health authorities re-establish a reliable health surveillance system around the covid”, according to Antoine Flahaut, who advocates in particular for the analysis of wastewater in Europe .
“The question is whether immunocompromised and elderly people will be tested, even in case of mild symptoms, so that they can benefit from early antiviral treatments,” explains Antoine Flahault.
Vaccination remains crucial, and the WHO urged on Wednesday to “intensify efforts to increase vaccination coverage.” Although anticovid vaccines lose effectiveness over time against infections, they are still considered very protective against severe forms.
To better adapt to the virus mutations, the pharmaceutical groups Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax are now preparing vaccines targeting the XBB line, as recommended by the WHO in the spring. In several countries, including France, vaccination campaigns, focused on the most vulnerable, are scheduled for this fall, along with campaigns against flu.
AFP
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