Arcturus Covid variant main symptoms as first UK cases detected - including ‘rare’ sign

The XBB.1.16 strain is a sub-variant of Omicron has been detected in more than 20 countries
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A new Covid variant behind a surge of infections in India has now been confirmed in the UK and is causing a new set of symptoms.

The XBB.1.16 strain - dubbed ‘Arcturus’ - is a sub-variant of Omicron and is thought to be 1.2 times more infectious.

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It was first identified in January and has been monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 22 March, although it is yet to be named a variant of interest or concern.

It is believed to be responsible for the recent spike in Covid cases in India, prompting the government to reintroduce compulsory face masks and ramp up vaccine production, while hospitals have been required to carry out mock drills in an effort to reduce its spread. On 12 April, India’s health ministry reported more than 40,000 active Covid cases - 3,122 up on the day before.

The XBB.1.16 strain - dubbed ‘Arcturus’ - is a sub-variant of Omicron (Composite: Mark Hall / Adobe)The XBB.1.16 strain - dubbed ‘Arcturus’ - is a sub-variant of Omicron (Composite: Mark Hall / Adobe)
The XBB.1.16 strain - dubbed ‘Arcturus’ - is a sub-variant of Omicron (Composite: Mark Hall / Adobe)

The variant has so far been detected in 22 countries, including the UK, the US, Australia and Singapore, and is thought to be similar to the current dominant Kraken XBB.1.5 strain.

Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid technical lead, told a press conference last month: “One of the variants that we are looking at, and I think you specifically mentioned India, is a variant that we have under monitoring. This is the XBB.1.16.

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“It’s actually very similar in profile to XBB.1.5. It has one additional mutation in the spike protein which in lab studies shows increase infectivity, as well as potential increased pathogenicity. So, it’s one that we are monitoring (...) because it has potential changes that we need to keep a good eye out on.”

Commenting on cases in the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said: “XBB.1.16 is a lineage with three additional spike mutations (E180V, K478R, and S486P) found both in the UK and internationally. However, the number of total number of samples is still less than 100.”

What are the main symptoms?

The most common Covid symptoms at the moment are very similar to colds and flu, with a sore throat, runny nose, headache and sneezing among them. But Arcturus appears to be causing a rare new symptom, with people suffering from “itchy” conjunctivitis - particularly children.

Conjunctivitis is also known as red or pink eye. It usually affects both eyes and can make them become red and itchy, watery, produce pus that sticks to lashes, and they may burn or feel gritty.

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Dr Vipin Vashishtha, a paediatrician and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunisation, said that paediatric cases of Covid were increasing for the first time in six months and told the The Hindustan Times the main symptoms of the variant include:

  • high fever
  • cough 
  • “itchy” conjunctivitis, without pus but with “sticky eyes”

Elsewhere, Professor Raj Rajnarayanan, an associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology, told Fortune there have been “lots of anecdotals of paediatric conjunctivitis in India”, although there is currently no data to prove Arcturus is driving a new range of symptoms in children and patients more generally.

Richard Reithinger, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the RTI International, added that it is “probably too early to tell” if the Covid’s symptom set has truly shifted, as conjunctivitis has previously been reported as a symptom of the virus in earlier waves.

As for whether the Arcturus is more severe than previous strains, experts say reports so far do not indicate a rise in hospitalisations, ICU admissions or deaths due to the variant.

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