VARIANT ARCTURUS. The WHO has alerted to XBB.1.16 or Arcturus, a variant of Covid-19 causing a new wave of contamination in India and linked to a strange symptom in the eye. It infected a few people in France.
I’World Health Organization alerted to a new variant of Covid-19, at the origin of a new wave of contamination in Indiain a report dated March 30, 2023. This variant named XBB.1.16 and nicknamed Arcturus by the variant trackers, would be very similar to XBB.1.5 (Kraken), the majority Omicron sublineage currently in France and in the United States. However, it would be equipped with additional mutations, which would make it (again) more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. XBB.1.16 has been placed in the variant list “under supervision” by the WHO since March 22. Is he present In France ? Should we be afraid of it? What symptoms does it cause? Is it more dangerous? Vaccine resistant?
What is the new XBB.1.16 or Arcturus variant?
From its official name XBB.1.16, Arcturus is a new mutation of Covid which was first detected in India in early February 2023. It then spread to other countries. Arcturus (in reference to the brightest star of the constellation Bouvier) or XBB.1.16 is a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 sublines And BA.2.75 and owns 3 additional mutations in the tip of the Spike protein (E180V, F486P and K478R) compared to its parent line XBB. The F486P mutation is shared with XBB.1.5, meaning it has a similar transmission and symptomatology profile, the WHO report reads. Although it circulates poorly in the world, XBB.1.16 has been placed on the list of variants under surveillance (“variants under monitoring or VUMs”) of the WHO since March 22, 2023.
What are the symptoms of the Arcturus variant?
Dr. Vipin Vashishtha, a pediatrician in India, former head of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Immunization Committee and a member of the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Network, observed an increase in Covid cases in children under 12 (for the first time in 6 months) as well as a “infantile phenotype that seems to emerge“probably in connection with this new variant, he describes on his Twitter account. The symptoms he now sees in children are said to be:
- A high fever
- A cough
- “Itchy” conjunctivitis (pink eye without pus, but with “sticky eyes”), a symptom that had not been observed in previous waves in India, specifies the doctor.
Map of the Arcturus variant: where is it present in the world?
As of March 31, 2023, Arcturus has been detected mainly in India and in 23 countries in the worldaccording Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan’s Variant Tracking : in the United States, in Singapore, in Japan, in the United Kingdom, in Canada… In India, it contaminated about 1,500 people to date. In this context, the Ministry of Health of India has organized mock exercises to ensure that hospitals are prepared for the increase in Covid cases, reported the bbc on April 10, noting that some states have again made it mandatory to wear masks in public places. However, there are currently no access restrictions for India. In the United States, Arcturus circulates weakly and remains rare: none of the new variants accounted for enough sequences (1% nationally) to be listed in the updated COVID forecasts of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Is it present in France?
Yes, Arcturus has been detected in France so far in Normandy, in the Centre-Val-de-Loire, in the Grand-Est, in Ile-de-France and in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, again according to variant tracking based on GISAID data. Note that this variant also has a sub-variant named XBB.1.16.1 which also circulates in France. For now there is less than 10 cases (XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.161 combined), which does not pose a threat.
Of particular concern is the K478R mutation in this variant.
Is it more dangerous than the others?
The Arcturus variant would be very similar to the XBB.1.5 variant. However, it would present “additional mutations in the virus’ spike proteinwhich can attach to and infect human cells, which have the potential to make the variant more infectious and even cause more severe disease“, can we read in the WHO weekly report of March 30, 2023. One of the 3 mutations (the mutation K478R) is of particular concern and is thought to be associated “to a decrease in neutralizing antibodies (a neutralizing antibody is an antibody that defends a cell against a pathogenic agent or an infectious particle by neutralizing its biological effects, editor’s note), increased transmissibility and pathogenicity”, writes the WHO. However, while mutations seem concerning in theory, they are not always so in reality due to the very complex nature of population immunity, said Ryan Gregory, professor of biology at the University of Guelph. in Ontario, Canada, fortune magazine.
Is Arcturus resistant to Covid vaccines?
According to the WHO, the K478R mutation may help the virus overcome antibodies from previous infection and vaccination. Nevertheless, vaccine boosters should offer “some protection if the dose is recent”reassured Dr. Rajendram Rajnarayanan, at the origin of the Tracking of XBB.1.16.
Sources:
– Epidemiological Weekly Bulletin of Covid-19, March 30, 2023, World Health Organization
– Tracking XBB.1.16* Lineage Over Time by Raj Rajnarayanan
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Covid Data Tracker