Omicron Subvariant Present In Malaysia But Health Minister Says Worry Not
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said despite the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, the Health Ministry says the situation is still under control.
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Just when the world thought we could move past the Covid-19 pandemic, a new subvariant of the Omicron virus has popped up.
News reports have also pointed out that the virus is making its rounds particularly in countries such as India, Singapore, Vietnam and many more.
As of today, there are a total of 14,517 active Covid-19 cases with a total of 13,824 undergoing home quarantine.
Has it or has it not entered Malaysia?
According to a report by China Press, the Assistant Dean of Research at the New York Institute of Technology Prof Rajeev Venkayya revealed that the new variant, Arcturus (XBB.1.16) has officially entered Malaysia.
However, lucky for us, the current vaccines are allegedly effective in battling this variant.
As reported by The Star yesterday, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa confirmed that the subvariants currently present were from the Omicron strain, specifically XBB1.5, 1.16 and 1.9.
However, she added that despite the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, the Health Ministry says the situation is still under control.
“Although these subvariants are more infectious, the symptoms are not as severe. The Covid-19 situation is still under control, and there is no need to panic.”
Nevertheless, it is always better to stay safe and continue to practise the standard operating procedures we all once followed.
What is the Arcturus subvariant?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Arcturus or XBB.1.16 is a subvariant of the Omicron virus.
It was first detected in January, and added to WHO’s list of variants under monitoring on March 22.
WHO also noted that this subvariant is a hybrid variant from the BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75, which are descendents from the Omicron variant BA.2.
“There were about 800 sequences of the virus from 22 countries. Most of them were from India, where XBB.1.16 had replaced the other variants in circulation.”
Another study from the University of Tokyo found that the variant spreads about 1.17 to 1.27 times more efficiently than the XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 strains, and suggested that it has the potential to spread worldwide in the near future.
Test results from the university also suggest that the variant is “robustly resistant” to a variety of COVID-19 antibodies.
Common symptoms of Arcturus
So, what are the common symptoms to look out for?
The symptoms of XBB 1.16 are not much different from previous variants.
Some of the common symptoms in adults include fever, sore throat, running nose, cough, body ache, myalgia, fatigue, diarrhoea.
Symptoms due to shortness of breath, low oxygen saturation, respiratory distress can be seen in patients who develop severe illness, according to WHO.
Experts from WHO also added that the loss of taste and smell seen in the days of spread of Delta variant is uncommon now while symptoms like fever, sore throat, running nose, body ache, diarrhoea, fatigue are more common in Covid patients.
On the other hand, children in addition to sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose may have conjunctivitis or pink eye in this current surge of Covid infections.
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