Although several months have passed in which the cases of covidthe world is once again on alert for another health risk, as it is now spreading Arcturusa new variant of the coronavirus that already it affects at 88 countries.
Three years have passed since the pandemic of covid It broke out worldwide, and despite the fact that over time measures have been created to reduce infections, as well as vaccines to protect the health of human beings, said infection is still present and now several countries they are aware of the new variant.
This is all that is known about Arcturus, the new variant of COVID that affects 88 countries
Arcturus (XBB.1.16) is the new variant of covid derived from the Omicrón strain, and which already affects 88 countries. It has been reported to have been identified in early 2023 in India and has an additional spike protein mutation which, in laboratory studies, shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity.
In addition to the 88 countries affected, it has been reported that it is spreading in 22 regions, where there has been an increase in cases. There are currently some 800 sequences of Arcturusmost of which are found in India, where it has replaced other variants of covid. It has been reported that in the last month, infections of the new variant have been multiplied by 13.
Given this alert, authorities have asked health officials to identify emergency hotspots by monitoring cases related to respiratory diseases and also to increase testing and vaccination against covid.
For the moment, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not detected changes in the severity of the disease caused by Arcturus in individuals or populations. “So far, reports do not indicate an increase in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, or deaths due to XBB.1.16”indicates the organism.