A new Covid strain that has sent India’s case numbers soaring has already reached more than half of the states in the US, data suggests.
Health chiefs first discovered “Arcturus,” a highly contagious Omicron spin-off, in New York in late January. But it has since spread to 26 other states and caused 235 cases, with hot spots in California, New Jersey and Virginia.
The variant – known scientifically as XBB.1.16 – is believed to be the most contagious version of Omicron to date, but there is no evidence that it is more deadly than other currently circulating strains.
In India, it is believed to have single-handedly caused a 13-fold rise in cases within a month. Hospitals across the country are on red alert, and some states have even introduced mask restrictions that were ditched more than a year ago.
The map above shows the states where the ultra-contagious variant has been found so far
The new Covid variant ‘Arcturus’ caused a huge increase in cases in India over the past month
The US data is available in the global genome sequencing database GISAID, which tracks the spread of Covid variants.
It shows that a total of XBB.1.16 has been detected in 27 states with a total of 235 cases recorded to date.
This is probably an underestimate because only a handful of positive tests are analyzed for variants.
California is the hot spot for the new variant in the United States, with 54 sequences so far.
Rounding out the top five are New Jersey, 38 cases, Virginia (25) Texas (23) and New York (21).
The other states where the strain has been detected are: Washington, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Utah, Ohio, Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina, Nevada, Iowa, Indiana, Hawaii, Delaware, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Louisiana, and Colorado.
Dr. Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia in England, said he was not concerned about the species.
“Yes, this variant seems to spread more easily than other variants currently in circulation,” he told DailyMail.com.
“But on the other hand, it’s been around for a while and was first seen in the UK in early February.”
He added: ‘Although it has taken off in India in recent weeks, it has not increased rapidly globally.
“From what I can gather from reports from India, there is currently no evidence that it causes a more serious illness.
“I suspect we’re going to see a wave of infections with this variant, but I doubt it’s going to cause a big wave, probably not even as big as [previous ones].’
Internationally, XBB.1.16 has been detected in 28 countries and Aruba, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
But India has been hit hardest by its rise.
Officials there believe the variant is single-handedly driving the latest wave.
The country’s health ministry held mock exercises this week to check how prepared hospitals were for a new potential influx of patients.
And some states have brought back face masks in public settings, for the first time in more than a year in some areas.
India’s health ministry said there were 40,215 active cases of Covid as of April 12, up by 3,122 in just one day.
These Covid cases could be those who test positive while feeling unwell at home as well as those who are in hospital.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently monitoring Arcturus, known scientifically as XBB.1.16.
It has yet to be added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly update on circulating Covid variants.
It was first discovered in late January and officials said it has some worrying mutations.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Covid technical lead, said: ‘It has been in circulation for a few months.
“We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or populations, which is why we put these systems in place.
“It has one additional mutation in the spike protein that shows increased infectivity and possibly increased pathogenicity in lab studies.”
Dr. Van Kerkhove added that while XBB.1.16 had been detected in other countries, most of the sequences came from India, where it had replaced other variants.
She also said that no change in disease severity had been reported in XBB.1.16 infections to date.
Currently, the XBB.1.5 variant is dominant in the US, accounting for about 88 percent of cases according to estimates.
The above map shows the weekly number of Covid infections by state in the United States. Although California is the XBB.1.16 hotspot, it does not have the highest number of cases in the US
The above shows the number of Covid cases detected in the US per week. The number of cases is going down, but the data is less reliable because fewer people are getting tested
This map shows the death rate of Covid in the United States per 100,000 people
This chart shows the number of deaths involving Covid reported per week in the United States
Spin-offs from Omicron have proven to be highly contagious and good at bypassing immunity once they have emerged.
But Covid has now become a background issue for many Americans.
The US is currently recording about 1,773 Covid deaths each week, compared to the 17,480 fatalities at the peak of the last wave last February.
It also records about 120,000 cases per week, but this is likely a major underestimate as many people with the disease are not tested.
| Stands | Case number |
|---|---|
| California New Jersey Virginia Texas New York Washington Illinois Florida Pennsylvania Georgia Utah Ohio Minnesota Maryland North Carolina Nevada Iowa Indiana Hawaii Delaware Connecticut WisconsinOregonMichiganMassachusettsLouisianaColorado | 54 38 25 23 21 19 7 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 11111 |