The new crown pneumonia epidemic has eased, but the threat of potential new variants has not been eliminated. The Omicron subspecies variant virus named Arcturus was first discovered in India in January this year, causing a surge in the number of confirmed cases in the country, and the variant virus has spread to at least 22 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore. Arcturus mostly causes conjunctivitis symptoms in children under the age of 12, but some experts pointed out that the current vaccine is still effective against new variants, and there is no need to panic about the emergence of new variants.
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India records 40,000 confirmed cases in a single day, some areas reintroduce mask orders
According to comprehensive foreign media reports, the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in India has increased significantly recently. The day before yesterday (12th), more than 40,000 confirmed cases were recorded across the country, a daily surge of 3,122 cases set a recent record, and even a 13-fold increase in a month. Omicron subspecies variant virus Arcturus (XBB.1.16) is regarded as the main cause. In addition to the increase in the number of confirmed cases, Arcturus is also said to be more likely to infect children under the age of 12, and it can also cause symptoms of conjunctivitis that were less common in the past, causing eye marks and discharge.
In response to the epidemic, some parts of India have re-imposed the abolished mask order; the southern state of Kerala (Kerala) has re-required high-risk groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, and chronically ill patients to wear masks.
Infected children with conjunctivitis-like symptoms
According to reports, the Omicron subspecies variant called “Arcturus” was first discovered in India in January this year, and has since appeared in at least 22 countries including Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Vipin Vashishtha, former president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, pointed out that the symptoms of conjunctivitis caused by Arcturus in children were relatively rare in the past, while the symptoms after infection in adults remained cough, sore throat or runny nose, which was the same as before.
Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organization, pointed out that the Arcturus variant has an additional mutation in the spike protein. It increases the probability of severe illness and even death, and there is no immune escape that causes the vaccine to fail.
There is no need to panic if there is no increase in the probability of severe illness
Iwan Ariawan, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health, appealed to the public that there is no need to panic because of the appearance of Arcturus; Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease expert at the University of Toronto, pointed out that the number of hospitalizations may increase in a short period of time due to the appearance of Arcturus, but it is expected to be the same as earlier A similar pandemic situation will not occur, and the current vaccine against the Omicron variant is believed to be equally effective against Arcturus.
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