Arcturus is one of the 600 sub variants of Omicron circulating worldwide
The sub variant of the recombinant variant of the Omicron is currently one of the 600 sub variants of the Omicron which is in circulation since early 2022.
Infection cases linked to Arcturus are rising. The virus is prevalent in India and cases are increasing in the US as well.
XBB.1.16 is nicknamed as Arcturus.
In the US, Arcturus accounts for 11.7% of COVID cases currently
As per the information available in the US CDC, Arcturus accounts for 11.7% of all the COVID cases and is second to XBB.1.5, which is behind 68.8% of COVID cases.
Among the top variants of COVID circulating in the US are XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2, XBB, XBB.1.5.1 and FD.2.
On April 17, the World Health Organisation (WHO) added XBB.1.16 as a variant of interest. Until then it was a variant under monitoring. "As of 17 April 2023, 3648 sequences of the Omicron XBB.1.16 variant have been reported from 33 countries," the WHO said.
What are the symptoms?
High fever and pink eye are being reported in many COVID patients this time. These symptoms are particularly seen in kids.
"Experts are warning that pink eye and high fever, two symptoms of the new variant, are particularly present among children," a FORBES report has said.
Few weeks before, pediatrician Vipin M. Vashishtha had tweeted about this symptom seen in kids. Conjunctivitis is being seen in 42.8% of kids having COVID infection and is more prevalent among infants.
The other symptoms are cough, runny nose, fever, loose stools and vomiting.
"The youngest infant was a 13 day old neonate!"
As per Dr Vashishtha, the youngest infant to catch the virus was a 13 day old neonate.
"Unlike the previous BA.2 Omicron wave, respiratory symptoms are predominating in young infants," he had tweeted.
"One surprising finding, not seen in the previous waves, was the presence of itchy, non-purulent, conjunctivitis that was solely seen in infants. Conjunctival involvement is seen in 42.8% of affected infants," he has mentioned in another tweet.
What are the symptoms seen in adults?
Adults, the majority of whom have been vaccinated against COVID at least once, are showing the classic signs of COVID which were seen in the last waves of infection.
Body ache, fever, extreme muscle pain, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea like motion are commonly seen in people these days.
"Current outbreak is causing a mild febrile illness, total duration of illness is only 1-3 days, young infants are disproportionately more affected than older children," Dr Vashishtha had tweeted.
High fever is a characteristic of the infection caused by Arcturus. “XBB.1.16 may also be associated with a higher-grade fever than other variants,” as per a report in GAVI quoting Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US.
"Arcturus is rapidly outcompeting others in India"
XBB.1.16 is behind the current surge of COVID infections in India currently. Few weeks ago the number of cases due to this variant went over 10,000 in a single day. As on May 1, a total of 4,282 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.
Arcturus is growing at a faster rate than other variants and is “rapidly outcompeting” others in India, The Independent quoted Virologist Dr Stephen Griffin from the University of Leeds.
The virologist expressed concern over the spread of the variant which is more concerning due to lack of genome sequencing and tracking.
XBB.1.16 was first detected in India in January, 2023.
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