- A new subvariant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 known as Arcturus has been found in 31 countries.
- Experts say the new strain is highly contagious and can cause serious illness, but they don’t consider it to be any more dangerous that the current variants now in circulation.
- They say the best way to protect yourself continues to get vaccinated, wear a face mask in crowded areas, and practice physical distancing when necessary.
The latest subvariant that causes COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, but the World Health Organization
A subvariant of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, XBB 1.16 — also known as Arcturus — was initially detected in January 2023.
It has spread most widely in India but has been found in
“The upward trend of cases warrants public health experts to remind the community on protective measures against the spread of disease,” Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, the director and founding dean of the University of California Irvine’s Program in Public Health, told Medical News Today.
“It is concerning that there are so many Omicron subvariants circulating in our communities, but it [should] be part of our daily routine to wear masks and practice safe distancing when one of the subvariants pick up steam,” she added.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that slightly less than 10% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States involve the XBB 1.16 strain, with the vast majority of cases represented by the XBB 1.5 Omicron subvariant.
“The global risk assessment for XBB.1.16 is low as compared to XBB.1.5 and the other currently circulating variants,” according to the WHO, which noted that “no changes in severity have been reported in countries where XBB.1.16 are reported to be circulating.”
“In India and Indonesia, there has been a slight…
Read the full article here