Everything you need to know about the new Covid variant ‘Arcturus’ causing carnage in India

A new Covid strain nicknamed ‘Arcturus’ is sparking concern around the world.

XBB.1.16, a subvariant of Omicron, is already wreaking havoc in parts of India. 

Now it has started to sweep across the UK and US.

But where else has the strain been spotted? Are there any new symptoms? Do vaccines still work against it? And why is it even called Arcturus?

Here, MailOnline breaks down everything you need to know about the new variant. 

Office for National Statistics analysts estimate almost 1.7million Brits were carrying the virus on any given day in the week to March 13. This a jump of almost 14 per cent on the week before

What is XBB.1.16?

XBB.1.16 is a mutated version of Omicron XBB, a strain that was first detected in India in August.

Its parent strain XBB — a merger of BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 — caused cases to quadruple in just one month in some nations.

It is one of more than 600 Omicron sub-variants that are currently circulating, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Other sub-variants include Kraken (XBB.1.5) and Orthrus (CH.1.1).

Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency, shows that Kraken was the dominant strain in the UK, as of March 26, causing 51 per cent of cases. 

Orthrus was behind at 10.4 per cent.

Why is it called Arcturus? 

Like similar new Covid variants, virus trackers online decided to call XBB.1.16 ‘Arcturus’ following a pattern of naming new strains after mythological entities.

Arcturus means ‘Guardian of the Bear’ and is related to the constellation called the Great Bear.

Why has it sparked concern?

The WHO is currently monitoring Arcturus, with officials saying it has some mutations of concern. 

In a press conference on March 29, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid technical lead, said: ‘We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but that’s why we have these systems in place.

She added: ‘It has one additional mutation in the spike protein which in lab studies shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity.’

The variant has led to a surge in cases in India with infections soaring 13-fold within the last month, sparking concern among officials. 

This has prompted the nation’s health authorities to run hospital drills and reintroduce mask mandates in some areas.

A study by Japanese scientists has also suggested Arcturus is 1.2 times more infectious than the closely-related Kraken Covid strain.

Uploading their findings to the biology research website bioRxiv, they wrote that this advantage suggests the new variant will ‘spread worldwide in the near future’.

How deadly are the symptoms?

While the WHO have confirmed ‘Arcturus’ has mutations on its spike protein that the could increase its ability to infect people, there is currently no evidence to suggest it increases severity of disease.

But a rise in cases could put health services under pressure.

Typically Covid symptoms are known to include a high fever, cough, cold and loss of the sense of taste or smell. 

But doctors on the frontline in India claim to have seen a rise in infected children battling conjunctivitis, suggesting it is causing slightly different symptoms than other variants. 

Vipin Vashishtha, consultant paediatrician at the Mangla Hospital and Research Centre and former official at the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, revealed symptoms affecting children’s eyes have seen a sudden surge. 

Vipin Vashishtha, consultant paediatrician at the Mangla Hospital and Research Centre and former convenor of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, revealed symptoms affecting children’s eyes have seen a sudden surge

Where has it been spotted? 

According to WHO officials, XBB.1.16 was first detected in late January, with Dr Kerkhove confirming ‘it’s been in circulation for a few months’. 

It has been monitored by the WHO since March, 22.  

According to the latest data, the variant has been spotted since in 22 countries, but the largest outbreak by far is in India.

India’s Ministry of Health reported 10,158 new Covid cases today alone, almost double the number (5,335) reported a week ago, on April 6. 

Yesterday, Maharashtra and Delhi also reported over 1,000 daily cases, for the first time this year.

Data also suggests ‘Arcturus’ has already reached more than half of all US states. 

Health chiefs first detected ‘Arcturus’,  in New York in late January. 

But it has since spread to 26 more states and triggered 235 cases, with hotspots emerging in California, New Jersey and Virginia.

MailOnline yesterday also revealed that the variant is already in Britain. 

How many UK cases are there? 

The UK Health and Security Agency said the variant was already in the UK in its final variant report issued last month.

Separate data collected from variant trackers report that the UK has now sequenced almost 50 samples of Arcturus.

But Professor Paul Hunter, a infectious diseases expert based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: ‘I suspect we will see a wave of infections with this variant.

He said: ‘I doubt it will cause a big wave, probably not even as great as the one we have just had in the UK.’

He added that, as a result, it ‘probably’ won’t pile much extra pressure on the ailing NHS, which has struggled throughout the pandemic. 

Do the vaccines still work?

Early results suggest ‘Arcturus’ does not have any increased ability to evade protection from vaccines compared to other Omicron spin-offs. 

Even if the vaccines do not work perfectly against the variant, immunity is likely to still hold up, with most Brits also having been exposed to former Omicron variants.

High levels of protection against the virus gave ministers the confidence to ditch all Covid measures last year as the country moved to living with the virus.