The strain, which accounted for 16 percent of cases in late April, now accounts for more than 28 percent of COVID-19 infections.
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Another variant FLiRT KP. 1. 1, responsible for 7. 5% of infections, also appears to be gaining momentum.
Although KP. 2 and KP. 1. 1 develop rapidly, there is no indication that they are more harmful than other recently prevalent strains, such as JN. 1, which is also part of the Omicron family.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything new related to the symptoms of FLiRT variants; however, it’s possibly too early to know and we’re tracking it,” says Krutika Kuppalli, MD, a former doctor in fitness rate for COVID-19. operations at the World Health Organization.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the CDC posted that those strains cause a peak of severe disease.
Currently, the usual symptoms of the novel COVID KP. 2 and other variants of the FLiRT strain remain:
Although KP. 2 can better evade immune defenses, most people will only experience mild symptoms because vaccination or a past infection has provided them with enough coverage to fight severe illness, according to Dr. Kuppalli.
Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in infectious diseases, said that symptoms so far appear similar to those caused by recent variants in the past.
He cautions, however, that for some other people who lose their sense of taste and smell — a symptom that was previously uncommon but is now rarer — shortness of breath may soon appear.
“Breathing difficulties can occur about seven days after the onset of [these] symptoms and some patients become seriously ill,” says Dr. Chin-Hong.
The CDC continues to warn that older adults are at the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and that more than 81% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people 65 and older.
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With the highly transmissible KP. 2 variant circulating, the health government expects a surge in infections as the summer months approach.
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“It’s vital that we’re still in a pandemic, what’s happening is that the Public Health Emergency of International Concern has been lifted,” says Kuppalli, who also sits on the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Committee on Global Health. “The virus continues to evolve, so it’s vital for us to monitor those adjustments and adapt accordingly. “
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