Here comes the Arturo variant: how dangerous is it?
A new recombinant variant of Omicron the experts are concerned: it is Arturo, considered responsible for the recent boom in cases of contagion to be attributed to the Covid recorded in India.
Covid, the Arturo variant worries experts: boom in cases in India
The XBB.1.16 is the latest recombinant variant of Omicron already renamed by social media experts with the name Arturo (Arcturus), as the red giant known as the brightest star in the constellation Bootes. The new variant has drawn attention to itself due to the peak of Covid infections recorded in India which could be due precisely to its high circulation.
The first case of XBB.1.16 has been identified in China, as reported in a tweet by the pediatrician Vipin M. Vashishtha, former coordinator of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and proponent of the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net (VSN) initiative. The pediatrician explained that, at the moment, the sublineage it was detected in 17 countries, including Canada and Singapore, leading to 471 isolation.
According to the expert, it is necessary to carefully monitor the Indian situation in order to see if the mutant is able to overcome the immunity of a population that has had to face different variants such as Centaurus and Kraken.
The UK report and the WHO warning
In India, attention is high as, for the first time in 2023, the 1,100 daily cases were exceeded even if the data relating to hospitalizations and mortality would not be alarming, according to reports from some local experts. Furthermore, the peak linked to Covid emerged while one was also observed in the country increased circulation of influenza H3N2. For this reason, the Indian health authorities have called on citizens to be vigilant and cautious.
Meanwhile, Arturo also discussed the variantBritish agency Ukhsa (UK Health Security Agency) during a technical briefing organized to assess the existence of any “signs” of danger with respect to the pandemic. Among these signals, for issues ranging from growth related to mutation profiles, also figure XBB.1.16with XBB.1.9.1 e XBB.1.9.2.
In the British report, we read that Arturo “is a lineage with 3 additional Spike mutationsfound both in the UK and internationally, although the total number of samples is still low.
In the last two weekly updates, WHO has not yet made any reference to XBB.1.16 but has reported the high weight of Omicron recombinants and the XBB family.