The CDC uses a data tracker to view Covid variants every two weeks (Image: Image Bank)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that it is monitoring the new coronavirus variant (KP.3). Between May 26 and June 8, the variant was responsible for 25% of coronavirus cases in the United States. Now, the dominant variant has dethroned the previous leader: the JN.1 variant, which spread around the world last winter. Information from the portal USA Today.
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– KP.3 is growing and will become the most common strain of SARS-CoV-2 nationally. Our agency is working to better understand its potential public health impact,” said CDC spokeswoman Rosa Norman.
K.2 is located immediately after KP.3, and represents 22.5% of cases. The CDC uses a data tracker to view coronavirus variants every two weeks. The tool is used to help estimate the current prevalence of variants.
Despite the alarming data, the CDC does not predict future spread of the virus: infection rates may be lower than expected.
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– KP.3 viruses are currently estimated to account for between 16% and 37% of all SARS-CoV-2 viruses in the United States. Most key COVID-19 indicators show low levels of activity nationally, so the total number of infections this strain could cause is likely low, Norman said.
According to her, Covid-related deaths and hospitalizations have remained low since March 2020.
What is the alternative KP.3?
Like the KP.1.1 and KP.2 variants of JN.1 and “FLiRT”, KP.3 is a similar strain. Norman explains that the KP.3 variant is a “substrain of the JN.1 strain” that comes from the Ômicron variant.
– KP.3 evolved from JN.1, which has been the main viral strain circulating since December 2023. It is very similar to JN.1 and has only two peak changes compared to JN.1 – Norman says.
Learn about the symptoms of KP.3
Norman says the symptoms associated with KP.3 are similar to those of JN.1. They include:
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- Fever or chills.
- cough;
- sore throat;
- Nasal congestion or runny nose.
- headache;
- muscle pain;
- difficulty breathing.
- exhaustion;
- New loss of sense of taste or smell;
- “brain fog” (feeling less alert and aware);
- Gastrointestinal symptoms (stomach pain, mild diarrhea, vomiting).
The CDC highlights that the list does not include all possible symptoms, which could change with new variants or vary from person to person.
In general, people infected with Covid show a range of symptoms, which vary depending on whether the disease is mild or severe, according to the agency. Symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
How to prevent
Norman suggests that everyone from the age of six months take the Covid-19 vaccine from 2023 to 2024. According to her, the vaccine will help protect against any serious illness from Covid.
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The following forecasts, which are updated every two weeks, can be found on the CDC website: Track Covid Data.
*Under the supervision of Andrea Da Luz
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