The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says there is no need to panic about new COVID-19 variants.
The agency said in a statement on Saturday that it is monitoring the new Omicron subvariants EG.5 and BA.2.86.
It added that the EG.5 variant is a descendant of XBB.1.9.2, which is a descendant of Omicron.
According to NCDC, the variant has been reported in 51 countries. These include China, the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain.
The statement reads:
“EG.5 causes symptoms like those seen with other COVID-19 variants, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, and sore throat,” the statement reads.
“So far, only one case of EG.5 has been seen in Africa, it has not been identified in Nigeria.
“The recently discovered/reported BA.2.86 is a descendent lineage of BA.2 (a sublineage of Omicron, also found in Nigeria in 2022).
“As of August 23, 2023, the BA.2.86 variant had been reported in a handful of countries. Countries like the United Kingdom, Israel, Denmark, South Africa, and the United States.
“It has been classified by the WHO as a ‘variant under monitoring’ (VUM).
“Since there are few cases identified so far, there is not enough information to make conclusive assessments of virulence, transmission, and severity.
“However, we do not expect it to be much different from other Omicron descendants currently circulating.”
The NCDC said although the ancestor BA.2 had been previously found in Nigeria, no BA.2.86 variant has been identified in the country.
“We have not observed any increase in trend of COVID-19 in this patient group,” the statement reads.
“NCDC will 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 to the NCDC for sequencing.
“We urge fellow citizens including media practitioners to act responsibly and share only verified information. There is no need to cause unnecessary anxiety and panic.”