A novel COVID variation under investigation by the World Health Organization appears to be creating a new symptom in children that is rarely caused by other Omicron spawn.
The variation XBB.1.16, called “Arcturus” by variant trackers, is fuelling a new spike of cases in India, despite that reported cases are decreasing in much of the rest of the world. According to the BBC, the country’s health ministry is running simulated drills to ensure that hospitals are prepared for growing COVID cases, and some states have made mask-wearing in public mandatory once again.
According to Yahoo News, however, XBB.1.16 may not be your average Omicron. Dr. Vipin Vashishtha, an Indian doctor and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunization, tweeted on Thursday that there have been pediatric cases of COVID are on the increase for the first time in six months, and that “an infantile phenotype seems emerging.”
The symptoms he’s now seeing among children:
- High fever
- Cough
- “Itchy” conjunctivitis—or pink eye—without pus, but with “sticky eyes”
The latter symptom hasn’t been seen in earlier COVID waves, he noted.
The Times of India reported Monday that COVID cases among children under the age of 12 are on the rise in India. While the symptoms are often mild, doctors advise “parents of children with obesity, asthma, and [those] suffering from other immunocompromised conditions not to ignore the symptoms” and to seek medical care if required, according to the publication.
Experts told The Times that they were also witnessing an increase in children hospitalizations due to adenovirus, which has symptoms similar to COVID and may also cause conjunctivitis. Without testing, it is hard to distinguish between Adenovirus and COVID.
According to Raj Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research and associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., and the leading COVID variation tracker, there are “lots of anecdotals of pediatric conjunctivitis in India” right now.
According to Richard Reithinger, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the nonprofit research agency RTI International, similar stories have been received, but it’s “probably too early to tell” if the virus’s symptom set has truly shifted.
Conjunctivitis had previously been reported as a COVID symptom, but not very often, he says.
The virus was previously detected in the tear film, a thin layer of fluid that covers the eye’s outer surface, by researchers at Nebraska Medicine’s Truhlsen Eye Institute. The virus’s presence there might lead to conjunctivitis, the institute noted in a November blog post.
According to the Truhlsen Eye Institute, symptoms of conjunctivitis include:
- Tearing, or watery eyes
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain or irritation
- Itching
- Discharge
XBB.1.16 has ‘the oomph to outcompete’ other variants
Rajnarayanan expects that XBB.1.16 and another new Omicron spawn, XBB.1.9, may acquire traction in the coming weeks “if nothing else emerges.”
“As of now,” XBB.1.16 and its descendants have “the oomph to outcompete” other circulating COVID variations, he adds, stressing that new variants come out quickly.
He describes the XBB.1.16 family of variations as “the next big group” following Kraken variants.
When it comes to pandemics, the world is presently living in the “age of recombinants,” or existing strains that have united to possibly wreak even more devastation. According to Ryan Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
XBB.1.16 is a recombinant of two “stealth Omicron” BA.2 descendants. According to a preprint research published on Sunday by scientists at the University of Tokyo, it spreads 1.17 to 1.27 times faster than relatives XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, often known as “Kraken,” which presently dominates cases in the United States.
XBB.1.16 the most transmissible yet
In late March, the WHO declared XBB.1.16 as a “variant under monitoring.” It’s the most transmissible variety yet, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO COVID-19 technical head, at a March 31 news briefing.
COVID hospitalizations and fatalities have not yet increased in India, despite the fact that both are considered “lagging indicators,” indicating that such changes, if they occur, normally emerge several weeks after a spike in cases.
The CDC has yet to identify the variation in the US. On Friday, XBB.1.16 cases were still being reported under XBB, accounting for not much under 2% of all cases in the US. Cases must account for at least 1% of all reported cases in order to be reported in their own category.
However, XBB.1.16 is certainly in the process of stepping into the US. According to Rajnarayanan, over half of such sequences reported in the United States were identified through airport surveillance, using data from GISAID, an international research database that records changes in COVID and the flu virus.