The WHO said it is "carefully monitoring" for signs of increased severity in a risk assessment of XBB.1.16.Įven if XBB.1.16 is better at evading immunity from the vaccine, vaccination can still provide some protection, the experts note. and it’s not driving more people into the hospitals," says Schaffner. The good news? "There is no indication at the moment that it’s causing more severe disease. This means the variant is better at dodging antibodies the body has produced to help fight off the virus, TODAY. “It (also) has at least two mutations in the spike proteins that will probably cause it to evade some amount of vaccine-induced immunity or immunity-induced by infection with XBB.1.5,” says Pekosz. Because of this, it may be able to "outrun" or outcompete other variants, he adds. "It seems to have a mutation that could make it even more transmissible than some of the other omicron strains. Is Arcturus more transmissible than other variants? In the case of XBB.1.16, its new mutations may impact its ability to spread and evade immunity, experts say. The WHO considers something a "variant of interest" if it meets two criteria: It's circulating widely, and it has suspected or known mutations that cause significant changes. Like Arcturus, XBB.1.5 is also considered a variant of interest, per the WHO, and has been circulating widely since last fall. Andy Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University, tells. and has been the dominant variant here and in many other countries for some time," Dr. "It looks very much like XBB.1.5, which is the dominant variant in the U.S. “It’s part of the omicron extended family, if you will,” says Schaffner. XBB.1.16 is a recombinant, or a hybrid of two BA.2 sublineages, according to the WHO. 9, 2023, and by April 17, WHO designated XBB.1.16 a " variant of interest." It has been detected in 33 countries so far, including the United States, but right now it is most prevalent in India. XBB.1.16 was first reported to the World Health Organization on Jan. What exactly is the XBB.1.16 Arcturus subvariant, which symptoms should people look out for, and is it more transmissible compared to other omicron subvariants? We spoke to experts to find out.
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