The Arcturus variant (Italianised Arturo) of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has also arrived in Italy. Among the characteristic symptoms cited by experts are red eyes. Here’s what we know about this recombinant strain.
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In Italy cases of the new have been identified Arthur variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruswhich, based on what has been indicated by various experts – including the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco interviewed by Fanpage.it -, would count more i children and would have between symptoms most peculiar a eye redness. In other words, it would cause more often conjunctivitis and so Red eyes. Since it emerged in late 2019 a Wuhan, in China, the pandemic pathogen has mutated into innumerable variants and subvariants, some of which have leapt to the international headlines because they are responsible for the waves of infections from the COVID-19 pandemic – which began more than 3 years ago – and therefore “attention” by the World Health Organization. The latest to have grabbed the headlines is right there Arcturus variantItalianized in Arcturus, exactly as happens with the homonymous red giant star set in the constellation of Boote.
The Arturo variant, formally XBB.1.16as specified by WHO on its “Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants” page, is included in the list of circulating variants under monitoring (VUMs), which it officially entered on March 22, 2023. It was identified for the first time earlier this year in India where it is responsible for significant waves of infections. It is technically part of the family of Omicron – like all the sub-variants with suggestive names of the last few months, da Kraken to Gryphon – and is a recombinant between sub-lineages BA.2.10.1 And BA.2.75. By recombinant we mean a variant born from the combination of two strains that simultaneously infect a host, in which it evolves by commutation (exchange) of fragments of genetic material between the two. As indicated, it is particularly widespread in India, where the main information on the characteristic symptom of red eyes comes from.
Dr. Ngabila Salama, head of the surveillance and immunization section of the Jakarta health office, in a note quoted by the Antara news agency said that on the basis of data circulating in India, the Arturo variant would have a new symptom, red eyes. precisely. “A new feature of cases caused by this variant is that it appears to cause conjunctivitis, or itchy red eyes, in young patients. This is not something we have seen with previous strains of the virus,” Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, told the Anchorage Daily News. The expert also highlights a higher infectivity – common detail of the Omicron group and of each new subvariant that emerges – but also a lower morbidity, i.e. a tendency to cause milder diseases.
This is due to multiple factors, such as the spread of Covid vaccines, the high immunity triggered by previous infections and a possible reduced pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The symptom of conjunctivitis in the most intense period for allergies, at least in the northern hemisphere, is rather subtle. However, red eyes are not a real novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic, since they were already talked about in 2020; for example it was a symptom well highlighted by an Italian research by scientists of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INMI) “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS of Rome.
The health site Prevention.com also mentions the higher fever in patients infected with the Arturo variant, but there does not seem to be definitive confirmation in this regard. The virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco explained to Fanpage.it that the new variant “fortunately does not seem to be more bad and widespread because it still appears to belong to the large Omicron family”. Based on the ZOE COVID Symptom Study, the most common symptoms of Omicron strains are in order of frequency: sore throat; a runny nose; stuffy nose; sneezing; cough without phlegm; heachache; cough with phlegm; hoarse voice; muscle aches and impaired sense of smell.
