Microbiologist discusses new COVID variant detected in Saskatchewan

One of the latest variants of COVID-19 has been detected in Saskatchewan.

The new variant is called EG.5. The latest Community Respiratory Illness Surveillance Program (CRISP) report issued by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said at least 21 samples tested positive for the new variant between July 16 and Aug. 12.

Dr. Joseph Blondeau, the head of clinical microbiology at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, said there’s nothing to be concerned about yet.

“What the trend has been with these new variants is that they seem to have some increased advantage for transmissibility but a decreased virulence,” he said. “I’ve not seen anything yet to suggest that we have to be worried about it.”

Over the last three years, COVID and its variants have changed. Blondeau explains the virus has progressed from the original strain, which had a high mortality rate, to variants that are becoming more like seasonal coronaviruses.

“Seasonal coronaviruses are the type of thing that cause the common cold,” he said.

Those symptoms may include a fever, runny nose, sore throat and achy muscles, for example. He said it’s unlikely people will experience symptoms that require hospitalization with the new variants.

Since this variant is new, Blondeau wasn’t sure if the current vaccines have the right antigens to fight it off.

But he said manufacturers are already making new vaccines.

“Manufacturers are trying to stay ahead of the game or at least catch up to the game by looking at what variants are in existence and what vaccine will have the antigen in it that the body will make antibodies that would recognize and protect against the various variants that are circulating,” he said.

“It doesn’t have to be a specific match, but it has to be one where the vaccine offers some level of protection by producing antibodies which are enough to attenuate or modify the infection so that a person doesn’t become seriously ill.”

He said studies have been done on vaccines when new variants arise. Studies looked at the ability of antibodies to neutralize the variants, and in most cases, the vaccine offered some level of protection even against new variants.

He suspects this pattern is going to continue.

As we head into back-to-school and flu seasons, Blondeau advises everyone to stay up to date with vaccines and be extra cautious about those around you who may be symptomatic.

When someone around you is showing signs of illness, it’s important to either remove them or yourself from that environment, he said.

“There’s still always the option of wearing a mask. Hand-washing is a really important thing to do. Physical distancing is still a good thing to practise. While COVID may be the virus that everybody’s thinking about, there are other respiratory viruses that can make you symptomatic the same as COVID,” said Blondeau.

The CRISP report also mentioned COVID numbers are down, but test positive rates are higher. Blondeau explained this is because only symptomatic people are getting tested.

“If 100 people became infected but only two people were symptomatic, then we might only know about those two people because they seek medical attention and get tested whereas the other people we may not know about. When you put those two things together, we expect that if you’re symptomatic (the likelihood of a positive COVID test) will be quite high,” he explained.