What is ‘Arcturus’, New Variant Behind Surge in Covid-19 Cases in India? Know Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Preventive Measures
Mumbai, April 13: Owing to a new coronavirus subvariant under the radar of World Health Organization (WHO), children are experiencing a new symptom that is remarkably distinct from the parent Omicron spread earlier. An increase in COVID-19 cases in India is being attributed to the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, also known as Arcturus. Cases associated with this variation are also increasing, among other places, in Singapore, the US, and Australia.
Two subvariants of the Omicron variant are combined to create the XBB.1.16 subvariant. Additionally, according to a preprint study from the University of Tokyo, the subvariant spreads between 1.17 and 1.27 times more effectively than the XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 or Kraken subvariants. What Is Tick Virus, Spreading in England? As First Case of TBEV Detected in UK, Know Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Preventive Measures.
We first demonstrate that XBB.1.16 had an effective reproductive number (Re) that was 1.27 and 1.17 fold higher than the parental XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, respectively, indicating that XBB.1.16 will spread globally in the near future, the study said.
Vipin M. Vashishtha, a former convenor of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Committee on Immunization, popularised the name Arcturus. In a tweet in March, he used it as a hashtag to alert people to the latest COVID-19 instances.
“All eyes should be on India! If XBB.1.16 aka Arcturus could succeed to wade through the ‘sturdy’ population immunity of Indians that successfully resisted the onslaught of variants like BA.285, BA.5, BQs, XBB.1.5, then the whole world must be seriously worried”, he wrote in his tweet.
All eyes should be on India! If XBB.1.16 aka #Arcturus could succeed to wade through the ‘sturdy’ population immunity of Indians that successfully resisted the onslaught of variants like BA.2.75, BA.5, BQs, XBB.1.5, then whole world must be seriously worried!! pic.twitter.com/PZYuM7hD7Q
— Vipin M. Vashishtha (@vipintukur) March 18, 2023
Symptoms of Arcturus Sub-Variant
High fever, cough, “itchy” conjunctivitis, or pink eye without pus but with sticky eyes are a few symptoms that Dr. Vashishtha listed for children. In past COVID-19 waves, he said, he had never seen anything like this.
He added that the primary symptoms of XBB.1.16 in adults, such as nasal discharge, sore throat, and cough, were similar to those of the flu.
In a blog post, the Truhlsen Eye Institute at Nebraska Medicine reported that the virus had been discovered in the tear film, a thin layer of fluid that covers the surface of the eye. Conjunctivitis can develop as a result of the virus in the tear film of the eye.
Treatment and Preventive Measures
On finding symptoms such as high fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, body aches, gastrointestinal symptoms, and red sticky eyes, a person should immediately consult a physician.
On the spread of the new sub-variant, Dr. Vashishtha wrote, “I would be surprised if it could generate a major surge here. All will depend on how well population immunity would resist this against the backdrop of differentially imprinted immunity and its waning over time!”
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Apr 13, 2023 05:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
