Popova warned of a wave of Arcturus infections

The wave of incidence of the new subspecies of the XBB 1.16 coronavirus "Arctur" is expected at the end of May, after holidays and vacations, Anna Popova, HEAD of Rospotrebnadzor, said during a working trip to Saratov, TASS reports.

“We see the risks of a further rise [in the incidence] by the end of May. Now the vacation period will begin, then everyone will gather - and this surge can be, ”Popova said.

According to her, four cases of Arcturus infection have already been registered in RUSSIA.

The new variant of covid-19 is more contagious than its predecessors, and any small contact leads to infection and the development of the disease, the head of Rospotrebnadzor explained, noting that, according to foreign scientists, the virus can bypass previously formed immunity. The course of the disease passes in the form of SARS, a high proportion of hospitalizations is not required, she added.

Arcturus is a genetic variant of the Omicron strain. The virus has already become widespread in India, Singapore, and cases have also been recorded in the usa , Germany, and CHINA. According to the World HEALTH Organization, the new version has been distributed to 29 countries as of April 13.

Rospotrebnadzor reported the first cases of Arcturus in Russia on April 18. The department then clarified that the introduction of anti-epidemic restrictions in this regard is not required.

The next day at the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamalei said they found the virus in three samples from Moscow patients. Vladimir Gushchin, head of the laboratory of mechanisms of population variability of pathogenic microorganisms of the center, said that the disease caused by this variant of the virus proceeds in a mild form.

Virologists interviewed on the eve of RBC said that Arcturus does not cause a severe course of the disease, therefore its detection in Russia does not cause concern. According to Yevgeny Timakov, chief physician of the Leader-Medicine medical center, the new subspecies of coronavirus does not differ much from other variants of the omicron, such as the kraken, so most Russians have cross-immunity to subspecies of the omicron strain.

“The symptoms are the same as for the rest of the strains of this group, and in addition to them, the symptoms of conjunctivitis and fever (however, they do not occur in all cases),” said Alexei Agranovsky, professor at Moscow State University, DOCTOR of Biology.