A new variant of the corona virus is spreading around the world that seems to cause special symptoms among children. India is particularly affected, but even in Sweden, individual cases have been discovered. – What has been reported from India is that they have seen cases of conjunctivitis, says Magnus Gisslén, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Gothenburg and chief physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The new variant of the coronavirus is called XBB.1.16 and was discovered for the first time at the end of January this year. It is another variant of omikron, which has dominated since the beginning of 2022. In Sweden, the XBB.1.5 variant, which was initially called the Kraken, still dominates. – The new variant called XBB.1.16 is very similar to XBB.1.5, only one mutation separates them and it is the one discovered in India at the beginning of the year that has taken over the spread and dominates there now. It has also spread to other countries in the world and we have seen a few isolated cases in Sweden, says Magnus Gisslén. Reports of conjunctivitis among children What seems to distinguish the symptoms of the new variant from the characteristics of earlier variants is that one suffers to a greater extent from conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye that causes red and irritated eyes. In India, there have been reports that children are particularly affected. However, Magnus Gisslén is careful to point out that conjunctivitis is also a common symptom of many other viral infections, and that it has been seen before during the pandemic. – We have seen it before with covid-19, but there are occasional reports that it is more common with this new variant, he says while emphasizing that there are still no scientific studies that have proven this to be the case. Difficult to predict new wave According to Magnus Gisslén, it is difficult to predict whether the new variant may contribute to a new wave of infection. He doesn’t think it will happen during the summer – and what will happen as we move towards colder times is also difficult to judge. However, he believes that we will see more cases in the fall or winter, but which variant will dominate in Sweden is too early to say for now. Whether XBB.1.16 will require a new vaccine is also difficult to say, but if you are vaccinated you have good protection regardless of the variant, says Magnus Gisslén. – Vaccines provide protection against all variants we have seen so far, and probably those we will see in the future as well.
t4-general