They sound like spring fever, but are anything but pleasant for those affected. The new Corona variants KP.1, KP.2 and KP.3, also known as FLIRT variants, currently dominate the infection process. According to the Federal Ministry of Health The wave has now reached its plateau. The reported infection numbers are currently no longer increasing.
Die current seven-day incidence is 5.0 (August 18, 2024). This value describes how many new infections per 100,000 inhabitants were reported in the past seven days.
According to various experts, the actual incidence is likely to be many times higher, as testing and reporting is now only carried out on a case-by-case basis.
How dangerous is KP.3?
Above all, the sub-variant KP.3, a subtype of the previous variant JN. 1, is the reason for an increased infection rate. “The contagiousness is high, which means that the variants are very easily transmitted,” said a spokesman for the Lower Saxony State Health Office (NLGA) of the German Press Agency.
According to the NLGA spokesperson, the symptoms of the new corona variants are the familiar ones such as cold symptoms, aching limbs and cough. Particularly severe Infections They do not currently carry out this task.
Is there a Corona summer wave?
The situation is not particularly dramatic at the moment, but acute respiratory diseases are still at a relatively high level for this time of year. In mid-July, one in 20 Germans was ill – more than in a normal summer!
SARS-CoV-2 is currently responsible for 17 percent of these diseases. The so-called rhinoviruses, better known as cold viruses, cause another 15 percent of these diseases, reports the RKI (18 August 2024). Influenza and RS viruses therefore currently play no role.
