The XBB 1.16 variant of COVID is nicknamed as Arcturus
The COVID's latest variant, a sub variant of its highly transmissible variant Omicron, is the new headache for all.
Yes, we are talking about the XBB 1.16. Social media users have nicknamed it as Arcturus, though no official naming has been done for this.
Arcturus is driving a huge number of COVID cases in India, and other countries like the US and Australia.
The Indian government has alerted all the state governments to be prepared for COVID cases. Mock drills have been held in hospitals to ensure they are prepared to face a crisis, if any arises.
What is the new symptom everyone is talking about?
Several reports have been talking about a new symptom of the COVID infection which is being seen these days and since XBB 1.16 is the dominant strain currently the symptom is being linked to it.
A tweet by Pediatrician Vipin M. Vashishtha is being referred to by many publications.
"For the last 2 days, have started getting pediatric Covid cases once again after a gap of 6 mo! An infantile phenotype seems emerging—treated infants w/ high fever, cold & cough, & non-purulent, itchy conjunctivitis w/ sticky eyes, not seen in earlier waves," the expert has tweeted with a representative image of a child with what looks like itchy conjunctivitis or sticky eyes.
Why should we be worried about this?
COVID cases are increasing among kids these days. Flu viruses are also active in the air.
Kids who are now going to schools and are back to normalcy which existed before the pandemic are more prone to these viruses.
The concerning reason is that kids have not been vaccinated against the COVID virus.
Health experts have warned that kids with obesity, asthma, and those who have immunocompromised issues are more prone to the severity of these viral infections.
Conjunctivitis was seen in earlier waves of COVID, but not often
While Dr Vashishtha's tweet on the sign of COVID seen in kids is to worry about, experts have said that conjunctivitis as a COVID sign was seen earlier too though it was not common.
As per a report by the Nebraska Medicine Truhlsen Eye Institute when the eyes are exposed to the coronavirus they can develop symptoms of conjunctivitis which are watery eyes, redness, swelling, irritation, itching and discharge.
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How else does COVID affect the eyes?
COVID's impact on the eyes has been discussed earlier too
As per a blog post by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, common eye problems due to COVID can be cotton wool spots in which blood clots damage the retina which gives it an appearance of cotton wool.
It can also lead to retinal artery occlusion, a condition where blood clots block the flow of oxygen to the eyes. It is also known as eye stroke.
Retinal vein occlusion can also occur and one can experience blurry vision, or permanent blindness due to this.
COVID can also lead to retinal hemorrhage.
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XBB 1.16 is the "one to watch"
Few days before WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said that the new variant XBB 1.16 is the "one to watch for". She also said that the virus needs to be monitored closely.
"We are very concerned about the potential of the virus to become more severe," she had said.
The pace at which the XBB 1.16 has spread across India is a thing to worry about. "XBB.1.16 has succeeded in creating a new, significant surge in India after a gap of >6 months. A feat that even BA.5, BQ.1 & XBB.1.5 failed to achieve!," Dr Vashishtha has tweeted.
"XBB.1.16 is definitely not a more pathogenic variant than other Omicron’s progenies. This variant is still evolving, adding few more mutations. But not all new mutations are beneficial to the virus," reads another tweet of the expert.
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