THE GUARDIAN
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is keeping tabs on the new omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16, dubbed “Arcturus” by those tracking the virus. XBB.1.16 is currently fueling a surge of cases in India, where it is the dominant sub-variant, and has been identified in, at least, 22 countries, including the United States.
XBB.1.16 is “one to watch,” according to Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, COVID-19 technical lead at WHO and a professor at the Georgetown University Centre for Global Health Science and Security in Washington, DC.
WHO is actively monitoring XBB.1.16, Dr. Van Kerkhove said at a press conference on March 29, “because it has potential changes that we need to keep a good eye out on.”
“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 increased infectivity, as well as potential increased pathogenicity,” the potential ability to produce disease,” she said.
The sub-variant XBB.1.5 is currently responsible for almost 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the COVID Data Tracker from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Although XBB.1.16 is more of a global issue at this point, according to the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, it has been reported in, at least, 18 U.S. states and case counts have nearly doubled over the last week. This accounts for an estimated 7.2 per cent of current cases — although the number could be as high as 11.3 per cent, according to the latest estimates from the CDC.
