Arcturus: What do we know about the new Covid variant?

XBB.1.16 strain has been detected in 22 countries so far, increasing the rate of infection in India

What is the new Covid variant causing the increase in cases?

A new strain of Covid responsible for a spike in infections in India is raising concerns, with research suggesting it could be a 1.2 times more contagious than the last Minor Major variant.

The strain known as subvariant Arcturus or Omicron XBB.1.16 was first identified in January and has been under surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 22.

Regarding the appearance of Arcturus at a March 29 press conference, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for Covid: “It has been around for several months.

“We didn't see any changes in severity in individuals or populations, but that's why we put these systems in place. It has an additional mutation in the spike protein that shows increased infectivity and potentially increased pathogenicity in laboratory studies.

New Covid variant stokes fear as India sees massive rise in infections

Government support for homes Pandemic pension withdrawn too soon, says Mit dem Pandemic study it was recalled too soon, the study said, no more deadly than others detected so far in 22 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In India, the Ministry of Health reported 40,215 active Covid cases on April 12, up from 3,122 in a single day, prompting some states to make face masks mandatory, hospitals to conduct exercise simulations and ramp up vaccine production.

India was devastated by the delta wave in 2021 and suffered a total of 4.7 million more deaths, according to WHO estimates.

dr Vipin Vashishtha, a pediatrician and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics' Immunization Committee, told the Hindustan Times that symptoms of Arcturus include high fever, cough and "itchy" conjunctivitis, or pink eyes. Around 50 cases have been detected in the UK so far, according to The Daily Mail, but Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia told the newspaper it was too early to say the UK could be facing a new surge in infections caused by Arcturus .

"Although it has gained strong momentum in India in recent weeks, it is not growing rapidly globally so far," said Professor Hunter.

"I suspect we will see a wave of infections with this variant, but I doubt it will trigger a big wave, perhaps not even as big as the one we've just had in the UK and therefore probably not like that puts a lot of pressure on health services like last time".

The professor was referring to the Kraken strain of the Covid virus, also known as XBB.1.5, which dominated Britain until February.

University of Tokyo researchers comparing the Kraken and Arcturus subvariants suggested that the new strain spreads 1.17 to 1.27 times more efficiently than its counterpart and warned that it could spread "in the near future." will spread worldwide', which appears to be 'firmly resistant' to antibodies left in the body from previous Covid infections.

University of Warwick virologist Professor Lawrence Young told The Independent that the emergence of the new Variant in India is a sign that 'we're not over the hill yet'

Start distributing Covid booster shots to the 5 million most vulnerable.

Fear of the new Covid variant 'Arcturus' going mainstream in the UK," he said."When a new variant comes out, you need to know if it's more contagious, more pathogenic, or more pathogenic? And what will happen in terms of immune protection.

"Things like this underscore the importance of genomic surveillance, but many countries, including ours, don't their vigilance is somewhat slacking, and we cannot be sure which variants exist and what level of infection they are causing until we see a significant outbreak. »