Arcturus, a new COVID-19 variant, is facilitating a surge of cases across India. Compared to other strains, this new variant has some distinct symptoms among children.
Surge of Cases in India
According to the Independent, this Omicron subvariant has now been reported in 22 countries, including Australia, the UK, Singapore, and the US.
However, in India, specifically, the variant is thought to be responsible for the rise of infections. Because of this, the government had to implement new measures to hamper the spread of the virus. These measures include conducting hospital drills and reimplementing some mask laws.
The Independent reports that India recorded 11,109 fresh cases on Friday. This is a great rise from the 7,830 cases in the prior day. Such numbers are the highest count seen in India in the last eight months. Their active cases have surged to 49,622.
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Arcturus: Newly Highly Transmissible COVID-19 Variant
MailOnline notes that Arcturus, also dubbed XBB.1.16, was first detected in January in India. Channel News Asia (CNA) also reports that it is a hybrid variant of BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1, which came from the Omicron strain BA.2.
While this variant has a similar profile as XBB.1.5, it has an added mutation at the spike protein. Lab studies have shown that this boosts infectivity and potential pathogenicity.
The CNA also adds that a study conducted by the University of Tokyo has demonstrated that the spread of the variant is 1.17 to 1.27 more effective compared to the XBB.1.5 and XBB.1 variants. The researchers suggest that the variant could spread across the globe in the near future. Findings also show that the strain is greatly resistant to several antibodies linked to the coronavirus.
Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead for WHO on COVID-19, mentioned last March 29 that it should be monitored and that it has been moving around for a few months. Dr. van Kekhove further notes that WHO has not found any severity changes among populations or individuals but nonetheless stresses the need to be cautious.
Unique Symptoms
The variant has worried experts due to how it seems to exhibit distinct symptoms among children. Dr. Vipin Vashishtha, a pediatrician and the former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunization, says that the variant's symptoms include cough, high fever, and itchy pink eye, or conjunctivitis.
Conjunctivitis is an infection of the eye that leads to swelling, itchiness, and redness. While it was reported before to be a COVID-19 symptom, it does not occur as often, as noted by Richard Reithinger, an epidemiologist on infection disease from the RTI International.
The Independent adds that researchers from the Truhlsen Eye Institute from Nebraska Medicine identified the coronavirus in the tear film of the eye, which could cause conjunctivitis.
Dr. Vashishtha notes that he dealt with infants that had colds, coughs, high fevers, and itchy, non-purulent conjunctivitis with stick eyes. This was not observed in previous waves.
Dr. Rahul Nagpal, a pediatrician, also notes that Arcturus' main symptoms among adults bear a resemblance to the flu. This included coughing, sore throat, and nasal discharge.
Now, the world's biggest vaccine producers and makers are boosting their production to cater to the growing demand in India, where cases are surging.
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