The new omicron variant XBB.1.16, better known as arcturus, is now responsible for about 14% of new Covid cases, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. That’s up from 7% only two weeks ago, making it the second most prominent variant currently circulating in America, and “on pace to become the dominant strain soon,” says Purvi Parikh, MD, an allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health.
Like other omicron subvariants before it, arcturus is “very contagious” but less likely to cause hospitalization or death, Parikh says, “mostly due to the fact so many people have immunity now in some form” to the original virus.
What makes arcturus unique, however, is that “it appears to cause conjunctivitis, or pink eye and more so than previous variants,” Parikh explains.
Pink eye is an inflammation or infection of the outer membrane of one’s eyeball and its inner eyelid. It causes sometimes intense itchiness, burning, and irritation, and often feels likes a foreign body in one’s eye. Increased tear production, mucus or pus discharge, and a crusting of one’s eyelids or lashes are common. In rare cases, reduced vision, pain, or severe light sensitivity can occur, but “anyone who experiences these symptoms should see an ophthalmologist,” says Kathryn Colby, MD, director of NYU Langone’s Eye Center and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
While pink eye often clears up within 7 to 14 days on its own, some cases of viral conjunctivitis can take 2 to 3 weeks or more to clear up, per the CDC. Supportive treatment options include cold compresses, artificial tears and avoiding anything that further aggravates the area such as wearing contact lenses. “Occasionally we prescribe a mild antibiotic ointment to help soothe the eye and prevent a bacterial infection on top of the viral infection,” adds Colby.
The most frequent cause of pink eye is the common cold, “but any virus that causes an upper respiratory infection can be associated with conjunctivitis,” explains Colby. This includes prior forms of the coronavirus as well, but more so in the case of arcturus. Complicating matters is that “conjunctivitis associated with Covid is undistinguishable from other forms of conjunctivitis,” Colby says.
Viral conjunctivitis is usually transmitted when an infected person touches their eye and then an object, and another person touches that object and then touches their eye. Though that might not seem highly transmittable, research shows that people touch their eyes and the surrounding area an average of 50 times every hour. That, combined with the fact that it’s allergy season, makes a bad situation worse. “It’s a time people are already suffering from itchy, watery eyes and rubbing them a lot,” Parikh says.
Personal hygiene can help. “It’s very important when someone has conjunctivitis to wash their hands frequently and not share utensils, pillowcases, or washcloths,” advises Colby. Extra caution needs to be exercised for a week or longer. “People are infectious for seven days after symptoms first appear,” Colby says.
Because of how quickly this latest strain of the virus is spreading and how contagious and inconvenient pink eye can be, Parikh says it’s a good time to consider getting up to date on Covid shots. “If you haven’t had the updated booster that came out last fall,” she councils, “now is the time to get it as that will provide most immunity from current variants.”