A doctor has listed two distinctive symptoms that could indicate you have the Arcturus coronavirus > Covid variant. Epidemiologists have raised concerns about the latest strain, stating it is highly transmissible.
It is a subvariant of Omicron that has spread globally and resulted in face mask rules being brought back in in India. Cases have also been reported in the East Midlands.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, explained two ways the mutation differs from previous variants, The Mirror reports. He said: "It tends to produce more fever than some of the other strains we've seen."
Dr Schaffner continued: "But the most distinctive feature is that it seems to have a tendency to produce conjunctivitis, particularly in children." Despite changes in symptoms, experts say the strain does not appear to be causing more severe cases.
Existing vaccines that work on Omicron also appear to work well against Acturus. Arcturus, known as XBB.1.16, was mentioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March as a "variant of monitoring" - a lesser threat than a "variant of interest".
But, the status of the variant could be changed if there are signs of increase transmission or severity, or if it appears to be able to evade antibodies.
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