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The latest covid strain, arcturus, is hitting the headlines, first spotted in January. It’s already here in the UK. In India infections are soaring, with thousands of new cases a day. The WHO is keeping its eye on the spread and the Indian authorities – along with those in some other countries - are bringing back face masks in public spaces. So should we worry?
This is another Omicron sub-variant, and so far it hasn’t been linked to any fatalities, but it has been found in 22 countries including the USA and Australia, and it could as much as 1.2 times more infectious than last sub-variant. This is what you need to know.
About the covid arcturus variant
The scientific name for the new variant is XBB.1.16, a blend of two previous Omicron variants and closely related to XBB1.5. It’s currently driving a wave in many other countries like India, where it is already endemic.
The symptoms are similar to other variants and it can cause severe lung infections in vulnerable people along with the usual risk of Long Covid. But arcturus comes with a new symptom, conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye, which mostly affects children.
What the experts say about arcturus
So far officials say it’s only a ‘slight’ concern, which is good news. On the other hand experts are worried that the UK doesn’t have a strong enough plan in place to safeguard everyone throughout the year as the pandemic quietly rumbles on in the background.
The good news is that the immunity built up from vaccinations and infections will help protect people against every new variant, no matter how infectious it is, but the vulnerable may need another booster jab. As Dr Connor Bamford from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University Belfast said, “We need more investment in surveillance of the virus, next-generation vaccines, and better treatments for the vulnerable in the community and in hospital.”
How to protect your staff and customers from arcturus
It doesn’t matter how tough and resilient covid becomes. Our UVC units will damage the DNA and RNA inside it so badly that it can’t reproduce, so can’t spread and can’t infect people. If you’d like to prepare your company for arcturus and all the other potential variants,
along with this massive list of other pathogens,
give us a call.