XBB.1.16 cases on rise
"XBB.1.16 has been reported in 31 countries," the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in the recent epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 20 April 2023.
The new recombinant variant accounts for 4.2% of the submitted sequences, the UN health agency has said.
XBB.1.16 is behind the current surge of COVID cases in India. A total of 7,178 new COVID cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate stands at 9.16%.
Understanding COVID symptoms
It is imperative to know the classic COVID symptoms in order to detect the infection early and get tested for it.
The common signs of COVID, as listed by ZOE Health Study which tracked COVID symptoms since the beginning of the pandemic, are: sore throat, runny nose, blocked nose, sneezing, cough without phlegm, headache, cough with phlegm, hoarse voice, muscle aches and pains, and an altered sense of smell.
The bizarre signs of COVID
Apart from the classic signs of COVID which are similar to the symptoms shown by many of the upper respiratory tract infections, there were certain other symptoms of the infection experienced by people which were remotely related to the respiratory infection.
Symptoms like loose motion, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, rashes, dry mouth and back pain were seen in people during the second wave of COVID infection which was led by the Delta variant of the coronavirus; this wave is said to be the devastating wave of COVID and had originated in India.
Changes in skin color and texture seen in few COVID patients raised several questions around the nature of the virus. COVID toes, as they are popularly referred to, was seen in kids and young people mostly. It is discoloration of the toes and fingers along with itchiness, blisters and rough skin.
COVID's impact on cognitive health
The impact of COVID on the brain health of an individual is not unknown now. Brain fog is a very common long COVID symptom and many people who had COVID have experienced it for weeks and months.
The occurrence of brain fog or confusion does not depend on the severity of the infection which means even those who had a mild COVID infection can be at a risk of it.
Pink eye symptom is seen in kids these days
With the dominance of XBB.1.16 variant a new symptom, pink eye or conjunctivitis, is being seen in kids this time.
Conjunctivitis is remotely connected to COVID; though it is one of the many symptoms of COVID, the rate of incidence of this sign was not common in earlier waves of COVID.
"There is no early signal of an increase in severity"
Currently, health experts are urging people to get tested for COVID and for this knowing the signs of this infection is extremely infectious.
Newer variants of the coronavirus are emerging regularly and a big question is whether it increases the risk of severity.
"Due to its estimated growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, XBB.1.16 may spread globally and contribute to an increase in case incidence. However, at present, there is no early signal of an increase in severity," the WHO has said in a recent report.
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