It is “rather good at passing from one person to another” according to virologists.
The Covid epidemic seems to be starting again in recent weeks in France with an increase in cases and visits to emergency departments in all age groups. Of course, at much lower levels than what we have previously experienced. Today, it is a new variant, responsible for 30% of Covid cases in the United States, which is causing concern among health authorities because of its rapid spread and its particular genetic profile. It is now the majority variant in the country and many American experts are warning of a “potential summer wave“and feel they must”continue to monitor the spread of this variant“. Worldwide, it represents around 12% of Covid cases. Should we fear it in France?
This new strain of Covid is part of the group of variants called FLiRT, which are part of the same lineage as the Omicron variant, itself a variant of the original strain of Covid-19, Sars-CoV-2. To put it more simply, it’s simply that the original virus has mutated over time, giving rise to several new viruses. This new variant was named KP.3 and “it is the sister of the KP.2 (which represents 35% of Covid cases in France in June 2024) […] He’s sort of a grandchild of Omicron“, summarizes Dr. William Schaffner, specialist in infectious diseases and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Vanderbilt University, interviewed by the American media Today.
According to him, he is “quite good at moving from one person to another” And “very contagious” because of an additional mutation (F456L) in its spike protein (the one that attaches to your cells and infects you). However, it would not cause serious illness: its symptoms are mild and “remain those of a classic upper respiratory tract infection” such as fever, chills, cough, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, loss of taste and smell, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, a runny nose and diarrhea Existing antiviral drugs (ibuprofen for example) and vaccines would act against KP.3.
In France, he “circulates at low levels“since mid-April 2024 currently representing 3% of contamination cases, reports Public health France in its risk analysis of the variants of June 10, 2024. Its spread on French territory seems stable since May. It is classified “VUM” for “variant under investigation”, a category which corresponds to variants for which researchers do not yet have conclusive epidemiological or clinical evidence in favor of an impact on public health, despite the presence of mutations found. “It’s still very early… but I don’t think we need to sound the alarm just yet“, reassures Dr. Albert Ko, infectious diseases physician and professor of public health, epidemiology and medicine at the Yale School of Public Health, in the article.