Since it was first reported in early January, the variant has only gradually increased around the world. The WHO has described the variant's growth advantage as only "moderate" compared to other strains. "I'm not aware of any major shift in symptomatology for this variant, but we are seeing characteristics associated with increased transmission capacity," the WHO's Dr. It can also appear before other more typical symptoms. But at a news conference on April 18, WHO officials described it as a "known symptom that already is part of COVID."ĭoctors have reported conjunctivitis sometimes showing up as the only symptom of COVID-19 in patients as early as 2020. Some have pointed to "pink eye" – also known as conjunctivitis – as a potential new symptom caused by XBB.1.16. In India, where XBB.1.16 had surged, the WHO reported on April 17 that hospitalizations and other measurements of disease severity were not worse compared with other circulating variants. Health authorities around the globe, including at the World Health Organization, have downplayed claims that XBB.1.16 is causing new or worse symptoms compared with other Omicron variant strains that have driven previous waves. Is this COVID strain causing "pink eye" or other different symptoms? The strain has been dominant there since February. Globally, India – which has seen a wave of new infections over recent months – has reported the largest share of XBB.1.16 sequences to global virus databases. Among travelers at international airports, the CDC's testing program has detected XBB.1.16 in around 1 in 5 positive samples pooled from arriving flights through early April.
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