Experts predict new COVID-19 variant Eris may drive rise in case

On August 9 the World Health Organisation designated EG.5 as a "variant of interest", six months after it was first reported.

It followed a steady rise in the presence of Eris from a global prevalence of 7.6 per cent to 17.4 per cent in four weeks.

With a "growth advantage and immune escape characteristics", WHO reports Eris may lead to a rise in cases and become dominant globally.

The subvariant EG.5, dubbed Eris after the Greek goddess of strife and discord, has been circulating in Australia for a few months.

NSW Health Pathology medical virologist Professor Dominic Dwyer said more than 30 cases had been detected since late May at a NSW laboratory.

But he said it wasn't known yet whether Eris was more transmissible or caused more severe disease.

Deakin University chair of epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett said EG.5 was a family of subvariants of Omicron.

"We have seen newly emerged Omicron variants take a few months to establish in Australia previously," she said.

"With the waves in Australia slowing and now spaced five months or more apart, the timing of EG.5.1 emergence might make this the subvariant that drives an increase here in late spring."

It follows a number of new variants making headlines in recent months including Arcturus and FU.1.

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Infectious diseases physician Dr Paul Griffin said Eris was first identified in Indonesia before it spread around the world.

He said it was likely to be partly responsible for a recent rise in cases in some places, but waning immunity was also likely to be a significant factor.

"This subvariant has become dominant in many countries. It is now 17.3 per cent of reported cases in the US and its rate of detection has increased sharply in many other parts of the world," he said.

Dr Griffin said the common symptoms were a runny nose, sneezing, headache and sore throat.

"But it has been suggested that the symptoms may be slightly different particularly in terms of a lower rate of fevers - although this too may be due to a combination of factors," he said.

In the first week of August, 5431 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Australia.

After a spike in cases and hospitalisations during the most recent COVID-19 wave, levels have now returned to those seen in early March.

But Dr Griffin said Eris served as a timely reminder that COVID-19 had not gone away.

"The basic measures we should all be familiar with including staying home when you are unwell, testing and taking antivirals if eligible and most importantly staying up to date with vaccination, particularly new updated boosters when they are available, remain important," he said.