COVID update April 16: India: 642% Increase in Deaths and a 905% Increase in Cases. Positivity Rate and Wastewater Prevalence Higher than 1st Omicron Surge
CDC Finally Updates Variant Proportions with XBB.1.16.
Arcturus (XBB.1.16) Simplified:
1. Anyone can be infected. Antibodies from prior infections or vaccines do not prevent infection of the XBB variants.
2. Less symptoms in many people due to increased immune evasion & suppression, weakening immune systems.
3. An increased risk of secondary infections like pneumonia are possible, particularly in the very young and the elderly.
4. An increased susceptibility to multi-organ persistence & dysfunction.
5. The more viral particles inhaled, the more cells that will have to die, accelerating aging and the greater the odds of multi-organ persistence and dysfunction. Mitigation of exposure is very important.
6. New symptom in children (likely adults as well): Red, itchy, eyes/conjunctivitis, not seen in earlier waves.
7. XBB.1.16 is 127% more contagious than XBB.1, making it the most contagious and immune evasive/suppressive variant to date.
India recorded 10,093 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Despite limited testing, India has seen a 905% increase in new cases and a 642% increase in deaths over the past 14 days.
XBB.1.16 evades antibodies similar to XBB, yet it has a 1.27 fold growth advantage over XBB.1. None of the reasons for such an advantage are good for humans, as it can infect everyone. This leaves us depending on T-cells to protect us. However, this is a very bad strategy because we have a finite amount of naïve T-cells, and COVID-19 causes massive cell loss and division, which could increase DNA mutation and accelerate biological aging. It's important to remember that the more times someone is infected and the higher the level of exposure per infection, the greater the number of cells in our bodies that will die and the higher the likelihood of accelerating biological aging by years or even decades.
SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Accumulates in the Skull and Brain, Potentially Leading to Neurological and Cognitive Dysfunction
COVID's spike protein can stay in a person's skull and brain long after they have recovered. If someone gets infected multiple times, especially if they are exposed to a lot of the virus, they may have more accumulating in their heads with each new infection. Chances of having cognitive issues increase.
Wastewater Prevalence in Bengaluru, India
India is giving us some clues as to what could happen elsewhere around the world. In Bengaluru, the wastewater prevalence is higher than during the first, BA.1, Omicron surge.
Positivity Rate in Delhi, India
The positivity rate in Delhi, India, is also exceeding that of the BA.1 Omicron surge. This suggests that India has very limited testing and widespread transmission, and is likely only capturing a small fraction of actual cases. We will have to wait and see the extent to which this variant weakens immune systems and opens the door to secondary infections such as pneumonia.
Insight into Symptoms and Pneumonia from Two Patients with Arcturus (XBB.1.16)
In Jakarta, Indonesia, the Jakarta Health Service has reported that two people infected with the XBB.1.16 variant showed indications of having developed pneumonia.
"The 1st patient, with the initials TSH (56), was positively identified with the Arcturus variant based on a test on March 24, 2023, at the Jakarta GSI Laboratory. TSH is known to be an overseas traveler from India who traveled in March 2023," the ministry's spokesperson, Mohammad Syahril, remarked.
"He stated that TSH had experienced symptoms in the form of cough, runny nose, and muscle aches, with comorbid hypertension. He had been declared cured after conducting independent isolation." We know that cured is impossible to determine at this point but at least we can say he survived the initial infection.
"The ministry also traced three people, who had come in close contact with TSH, i.e., his wife and two children." Yes, they are still doing contact tracing as they should.
"His wife has symptoms of cough and runny nose, but the results of the epidemiological investigation are negative. Meanwhile, the two children are asymptomatic and tested negative," he stated.
This provides us with a little more insight into the type of symptoms that could occur. The second patient was a healthy 30-year-old woman who did not travel, yet ended up with pneumonia and had a difficult time recovering. It is possible that both of these patients were infected with another virus at the same time that gave them some of these symptoms, as XBB.1.16 appears to travel silently and effectively suppress the immune response in the majority of healthy people.
The "patient, with the initials as NFA (30), a non-traveling woman in Jakarta, was confirmed to have been infected with the Arcturus variant based on sampling conducted on March 29, 2023, at the RSPISS Jakarta Laboratory."
"She experienced symptoms such as cough, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, pneumonia, and difficulty eating, with no comorbidities."
The CDC Finally Acknowledges Arcturus (XBB.1.16) in the Variant Proportions
The CDC has finally added XBB.1.16 to its list and backdated it by a month. However, this update conveniently occurred after President Biden ended the Public Health Emergency. It is unfortunate that millions of people struggling with Long COVID are left without insurance, and the protections to prevent reinfections and more people from dealing with these often disabling conditions have been removed. Additionally, the systems to warn people of new surges are completely inadequate.
President Biden recently signed $5 billion for vaccine research, which is necessary, but pharmaceutical companies have already made billions of dollars off an investment made by U.S taxpayers, who have yet to be paid back. It's a concerning situation where the people in need are left behind while the corporations reap the benefits.
The CDC Variant Proportions
XBB.1.16 has increased from 3.9% prevalence last week to 7.2% prevalence this week. As prevalence grows the rate of transmission increases and the viral loads in any one room or space will increase causing more to get sick and have greater odds of suffering more serious consequences.
Google Search for “Arcturus COVID Symptoms”
When looking at Google trends this morning, searches for "Arcturus COVID symptoms" were up 2,550%. Washington and New Jersey are the top states. These are the same states where Arcturus (XBB.1.16) was sequenced earlier, so they likely have a higher prevalence of transmission than other places now.
Red, Itchy, Watery Eyes May Not be Allergies and It Could Be COVID
Remember that if you have red, watery, itchy eyes, it may not be the pollen, it could very well be COVID. Tears and any discharge is likely to be very contagious so don’t rub your eyes without clean hands and don’t touch anything else without washing your hands after rubbing your eyes.
TACT noted this trend of increasing eye infections with XBB.1.5, but Arcturus (XBB.1.16) is likely taking it to the next level with the additional mutations. In other words, COVID can infect the eyes more easily, so keep this in mind in the coming weeks and months.
Let us hope and pray that the human immune system is capable of countering COVID's maneuvers, but the young and old will undoubtedly suffer more than anyone else. Take extra precautions to protect expectant mothers and fathers, infants, anyone that is immunocompromised, and anyone over the age of 50. This disease has dealt the most severe blows to these groups, to often resulting in death.
To protect patients, hospitals must use high-quality N-95 masks. We know from all of the data that anything less than an N-95 or similar type mask is negligent. A hospital may be held liable for any resulting harm if it fails to take reasonable steps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as failing to implement proper infection control measures or failing to adequately screen patients. COVID is the most contagious airborne virus in modern human history, and it necessitates the use of an N-95 or similar type mask to limit transmission. Second, hospitals are responsible for providing a safe and sanitary environment for both patients and staff. If a hospital fails to implement appropriate infection control measures, they may be held liable for any harm that results.
This is not a time to let our guard down. We should be especially concerned about the children who do not have adequate protection. Without adequate monitoring, this could wreak havoc on schools and homes long before we intervene. This is not an acceptable situation. We should have learned from our mistakes, applied what we knew, and become better prepared. Instead, there is less surveillance and almost no treatment for either the initial infection or Long COVID. The HVAC systems have not been upgraded. We do not have any new vaccines. We are not prepared.
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