Impending disaster: rise of the epsilon variant in Pakistan and the way forward

Abstract

The constantly mutating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. All countries, particularly developing countries, must adapt and strategically plan their way of life around the pandemic, while doing everything possible to keep the mortality rate and spread of the newly emerging variants as low as possible, in order to avoid a further blow to the economy and way of life. Pakistan is one such developing country that is currently battling the dangerous delta strain of SARS-COV-2 with limited resources and has recently seen the emergence of an equally transmissible and highly infectious epsilon strain. This is a concerning situation considering that Pakistan's already overburdened health system and faltering economy cannot withstand another dangerous SARS-COV-2 variant attack. This article highlights some strategies for the country to fortify its defences to prevent the epsilon variant from spreading before it is too late, and emphasises that while identifying potential immune evasion mechanisms in SARS-COV-2 variants is critical in the fight against COVID-19, it is also critical to develop methods of efficient and cost-effective detection to identify an early outbreak and then vigilantly and systematically plan area lockdowns before any hope of conquering this pandemic is lost.

What has been learned about COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan: Insights from a narrative review

“…3 Amid the pandemic, different variants of COVID‐19 were identified in Pakistan, including alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and omicron. 4 , 5 , 6 Despite significant efforts have and are being made to contain the virus, which is circulating to numerous nations with varying degrees of clinical manifestations like fever, cough, tiredness, and ageusia and/or anosmia being the most common symptoms. 7 , 8 COVID‐19 can also lead to several neurological dysfunctions other than gustatory and olfactory dysfunctions which include cognition and memory impairments and cranial nerve V3, IX, X, and XII impairment.…”

“…Around 1.5 million cases and 30,369 deaths were reported in Pakistan through April 27, 2022 3 . Amid the pandemic, different variants of COVID‐19 were identified in Pakistan, including alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and omicron 4–6 . Despite significant efforts have and are being made to contain the virus, which is circulating to numerous nations with varying degrees of clinical manifestations like fever, cough, tiredness, and ageusia and/or anosmia being the most common symptoms 7,8 .…”