The coronavirus continues to circulate and consequently to undergo mutations. A new variant has emerged in the last month, the variant called Arturo and is scoring high numbers of infections. Covid is not over yet and India knows it well, which in the last 28 days has scored a +251% increase in cases.
The virus is far from being defeated, at least in those countries where the vaccination of the population has been more complex and has not reached high percentages. In fact, in Europe the variant has not yet penetrated and Covid-19 is progressing slowly, with a number of positive cases reported (with hand swab) which has reached 3,582.
The new Arthur variant instead it puts a good part of the world under pressure, particularly Southeast Asia, with ben 17 countries reached and cases steadily increasing in the last month. We still know little about the Arturo variant, its danger or its ability to spread.
New Covid infections: the Arturo variant makes its way
WHO cannot yet declare an end to the coronavirus pandemic as the virus continues to combine into new variants, such as Arthur variant. It is a variant reported for the first time in January 2023, in China and which has easily spread to Southeast Asia.
Three months later the Arthur variant (XBB.1.16) reached 17 countries. The most affected country is India, where the recombination of the two Omicron viruses has found an unprotected population and easy terrain for spreading.
Why is the new Covid variant called Arturo?
There Arthur variant, official name XBB.1.16, is lobbying the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. It is a recombinant variant of Omicron that presents three mutations additional level of the Spike protein (the protein with which the virus attaches itself to human cells to penetrate them).
The imaginative name, different from those to which we have become accustomed over the years such as “Delta” or “Omicron”, takes its cue from one of the brightest stars in the firmament and describes the fame of the variant, which ended up in the spotlight on social media.
Is the Arturo variant dangerous? What are the symptoms
There Arthur variant it is the most contagious variant of Covid so far, at least according to data provided by institutes in India. In addition to its ability to spread, the speed of which is also given by its ability to escape antibodies induced by previous infections, the variant does not appear to cause serious forms of the disease.
Between symptoms have been noted:
- fever
- cough
- heachache
- sore throat
- cold
- fatigue
At present, India is the largest sample on which to base the experience of Arthur variant and severe forms of the Covid-19 disease are quite limited. As cases increase, which is inevitable given the diffusion capacity, the number of people who have suffered complications from the specific variant could increase. A determining factor will be, for example, how the variant combines with pre-existing diseases in patients. At the moment, however, there is no data that could indicate a greater danger of the Arturo variant compared to the dominant variants.
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