CDC warns of new Covid 'variant of interest' called Arcturus in US that could 'spread globally'

Omicron strain XBB.1.16, more commonly known as Arcturus, was the cause of 9.6 per cent of new infections

UPDATED APR 25, 2023

Representational photo (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON DC: Covid-19 is still a leading cause of death around the world, including in the United States. But now, a new strain of Covid has caught the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO) and has left experts concerned. The CDC estimates that this Omicron strain XBB.1.16, known as Arcturus, has been the cause of 9.6 per cent of new infections this week.

As per a report by WHO, "Due to its estimated growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, XBB.1.16 may spread globally and contribute to an increase in case incidence. However, at present, there is no early signal of an increase in severity. The initial XBB.1.16 risk assessment is ongoing and is expected to be published in the coming days."

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What is Arcturus?

It is a sub-variant of Omicron and was first detected in January 2023 in India, reports New York Post. And now the country’s health ministry reported 40,215 active Covid cases on April 12. The variant, apart from India, has been found in 31 countries, including US, Singapore, Australia, UK, among others. Arcturus has been classified as a ‘variant of interest’ by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s Covid technical lead, "It’s been in circulation for a few months. We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but that’s why we have these systems in place."

Dr Kerkhove further said, "Systems to track the virus variants, global collaborations to assess transmissibility, immune escape, severity and the impact of any of our interventions including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. It has one additional mutation in the spike protein which in lab studies shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity."

A study from the University of Tokyo published on the biology research website bioRxiv states that this variant is 1.2 times more infectious than the Kraken variant. It stated, "We first show that XBB.1.16 had an effective reproductive number that was 1.27- and 1.17- fold higher than the parental XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, respectively, suggesting that XBB.1.16 will spread worldwide in the near future."

What are the symptoms?

The familiar symptom of previous variants of Covid, as well as this variant is conjunctivitis. Dr Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said, as per NBC Chicago, “If you’ve got red, itchy eyes, and you think it’s allergies or just a cold, just take a Covid test to be sure. Overall, this is still all omicron, which is good news if you’re up-to-date with your Covid vaccines." Arwady added, "This is still at the lowest level where we’re keeping an eye on it, so it’s good for people to be aware,” Arwady said. “If you’ve had your most recent vaccines and you are up-to-date, you have the right protection, including against that subvariant.”

Commenting on it, Dr William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine, and health policy, and professor, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University said, as per Healthline, "It has a tendency to produce a high fever. Omicron can produce a fever, but many people get infected who don’t have a fever at all. The other thing that is even more distinctive is that, particularly in children, it has the tendency to produce conjunctivitis, which is the inflammation of the outside of the eye."

How to protect ourselves from Arcturus infection?

Hannah Newman, MPH, director of infection prevention at Lenox Hill Hospital explained, "The measures to prevent Covid remain the same with the Arcturus sub-variant." As per WHO, one can protect themselves and the people around them by getting vaccinated, keeping a physical distance of at least 1 meter from others, even if they don’t appear to be sick, avoiding crowds and close contact, wearing a fitted mask, clean the hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water, cover the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue while coughing or sneezing. And if one develops symptoms or tests positive for Covid, self-isolate until one recovers.