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A new coronavirus subvariant, XBB. 1.16, was designated as “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization. The latest Omicron offshoot is particularly prevalent in India, where it has led to a spike in infections and a return to mask requirements in parts of the country.
Here’s what you need to know about the subvariant called Arcturus, which has been documented in 29 countries so far.
What is Arcturus, the new sub-variant of the coronavirus?
Arcturus was first detected in a January sample and is now documented in 29 countries, according to the World Health Organization. It is a subvariant of the Omicron variant that emerged in late 2021 and replaced Delta as the world’s dominant variant.
By the end of February, the Arcturus strain accounted for 0.21 percent of cases worldwide. A month later, according to WHO figures, this had risen to 3.96 percent. In the United States, it accounts for an estimated 7.2 percent of coronavirus infections in the week ended April 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The WHO named XBB. 1.16 a “variant under surveillance” on March 22nd. This means the variant has “genetic changes” that could affect its properties as a virus, including a possible “growth advantage” over other variants, but the epidemiological implications are not clear. The WHO monitors seven variants, including the BA.2 version of omicron, which can be seen in many parts of the United States.
A “variant under surveillance” is considered less of concern than a “variant of interest” that is predicted or known to be more transmissible, virulent, or capable of bypassing antibodies, according to the WHO. The XBB. 1.5 strain, currently the most widespread subvariant in the world, is described as an interesting variant.
The latest version of omicron is responsible for most new infections in many parts of the US, genomic tests show
Does the Arcturus mutation make it more dangerous?
According to the WHO, Arcturus is similar to the prevailing XBB. 1.5 variant, but has “an additional mutation in the spike protein that demonstrates increased infectivity as well as potentially increased pathogenicity in laboratory studies.”
While this could mean it could spread faster, there’s no indication yet that this will lead to more severe cases.
“We’ve seen that in the past,” said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in the UK, in an interview. “You look at the virus and it has mutations that should make it more virulent, but in reality you don’t see that.”
He explains that the immunity in the body’s T cells is “one of the greatest protective measures” and yet “we don’t see much evolution in the parts of the virus that T cells actually attack”. meaning that the effects of the mutations may be limited. “There is no evidence that this is more severe – and likely slightly less severe than previous strains – but it is too early to be sure. And that’s almost certainly due to immunity.”
“It will probably become the dominant variant in the US and Europe and most countries around the world for a while, but I don’t see it causing severe infections to rise any more than we’ve seen in recent waves,” he said he.
How is the situation in India? And where else was reported about Arcturus?
In India, the number of active coronavirus cases has been rising steadily in recent weeks, with nearly 50,000 recorded on Friday – compared to 13,509, according to the country’s health ministry on March 30th.
The country was devastated by a 2021 wave of infections with the Delta variant, killing tens of thousands of people. Recently, cases have risen again, prompting some states to reintroduce mask requirements. According to the Portal news agency, the federal health minister last week also called on states to step up genome testing and conduct mock exercises in hospitals.
According to the WHO’s March report, Arcturus has already replaced other variants in India. However, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said in late March that “we have not seen any change in severity among individuals or populations”, although the group would “remain vigilant”.
According to the CoV-Spectrum website, which uses data from the GISAID initiative to track coronavirus variants, XBB. 1.16 has been detected in sequenced samples from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The CDC variant tracker shows it circulating at very low levels in more than a dozen states, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio.
“It seems to be spreading faster than any other variant right now, but it always happens: a new variant comes along, it spreads pretty quickly for a while, and then it fizzles out over a period of a couple of weeks, eventually through the next be replaced,” Hunter said.
He added that previous studies showed that many people benefit from the hybrid immunity that results from a combination of previous infections and vaccinations, which should give them better protection against serious illnesses “for quite a lot longer, probably for one.” few years” – meaning that even if they contract Arcturus or another variant, they are less likely to need hospital treatment.
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