FIRST ‘ARCTURUS’ CASE IN PH DETECTED IN ILOILO: Asymptomatic patient has recovered, DOH says

By John Noel E. Herrera

The first case of the COVID-19 Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant, also called “Arcturus”, in the Philippines was recorded in Iloilo province, according to the Department of Health’s (DOH) latest biosurveillance report.

DOH noted that the first case was found together with 88 other samples that had different Omicron subvariants during the sequencing run of the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine from April 12 to 17, 2023.

DOH said that Arcturus is a sub-lineage of the XBB subvariant added by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and was “initially flagged as a new variant of interest due to its increasing global prevalence and for having mutations which may lead to an increase in infectivity or pathogenicity.”

DOH on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, noted that the first reported case of the subvariant from Iloilo province was “asymptomatic and has already recovered.”

Meanwhile, DOH-Western Visayas said that they are still verifying the status of the first XBB.1.16 case in the province through the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO).

IPHO’s Dr. Rodney Labis, on the other hand, said that their initial information about the case indicated that the infected individual was a 16-year-old female and was admitted to the Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City.

“Initial namon nga information, the patient is a 16-year-old female nga admitted sa Western Visayas Medical Center, pero as to other details, i-investigate pa namon para maka-provide man ang team namon sang complete report on this,” Labis said.

Both the DOH-6 and the IPHO also reminded the public to continue practicing available layers of protection against COVID-19, such as the wearing of face masks.

“In any variant man, importante that we still practice our minimum public health standards. Dapat kabalo kita sang aton risks kung immunocompromised kita, seniors, so, importante that when we go in crowded and closed areas, naga wear kita gyapon sang face masks,” Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray said.

Labis stressed that the public should get their booster shots against COVID-19 as these provide the best long-term protection against any variant of the virus and its complications.

“Iba pa gid gihapon kung nakabaton kita sang aton recommended nga doses sang COVID-19 vaccines kay may layer of protection kita and ang severity sang disease for those vaccinated are less compared sa wala,” Labis said.

He added that there is enough supply of vaccines in the province, but they are still currently observing the trend of demand, noting that their vaccination accomplishment increased around 50 to 100 percent last week.

DOH also said that different areas in the country, including Iloilo province, reported an increase in COVID-19 cases because more people go out and there is an ease in restrictions, and it is not really because of the first reported XBB.1.16 case.

The agency, however, noted that the XBB subvariant remains the most dominant strain in the Philippines with 1,861 cases reported already, and followed by XBC with 764 cases.

The XBB.1.16 has been detected in 33 countries across six continents, but DOH stressed that “current available evidence” indicated that it does not have a difference in disease severity and clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant.