The Corona pandemic is long over, but Covid-19 is still a topic of discussion – especially when the infection rates rise again towards autumn and winter. Federal Government Infection Radar According to the study, the number of infections, the severity of the disease and the burden on the health system caused by Corona are currently increasing slightly again across all indicators (as of September 13, 2024).
Although the 7-day incidence has increased in the past four weeks, the value is currently only 6.3 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The viral load in wastewater has also increased. The current value is 128,000 gene copies per liter of wastewater. Since recording began in May 2022, the highest values of 634,000 gene copies were measured in December 2023. But a new variant of the coronavirus could now change that. The Omicron variant KP.3.1.1 is considered to be even more infectious than its predecessors.
Corona variant KP.3.1.1: Could it trigger a wave of infections in autumn?
The coronavirus is constantly evolving, so that new variants of the virus keep appearing and influencing the infection process. Currently, the Omicron variant KP.3.1.1 is predominant. Robert Koch Institute (RKI) According to the study, the new variant accounted for 72 percent of the circulating sublines in the 34th calendar week – from August 19 to 25. In the week before, it was 58.77 percent and in the 32nd week, 54.17 percent. In the week from June 10 to 16, it was only 6.15 percent.
It cannot be denied that KP.3.1.1 is spreading more and more, but experts now assume that the new corona variant could trigger a large wave of infections in the autumn.
There was already a sharp increase in infections in late summer and autumn 2023, explains Ulf Dittmer, director of the Institute of Virology at Essen University Hospital, to Focus OnlineThis phenomenon could now repeat itself. Because: “After an infection, you are obviously only protected from the next infection for a few months, so many people can now become infected again.”
Virologist and infectious disease epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs assesses the situation similarly and warns of a possible autumn wave, to which the particularly contagious variant KP.3.1.1 could contribute. Nevertheless, the fluctuations in the number of infections are currently still within limits. “The development corresponds to the endemic situation: the coronavirus is still there and can spread in new sub-variants in waves,” the expert explains to the magazine. But why is KP.3.1.1 so contagious?
Is the Corona variant KP.3.1.1 even more contagious than its Omicron predecessors?
According to the medical platform gelbe-liste.de The subline KP.3.1.1 belongs to the so-called FLiRT variants, which developed from the omicron variant JN.1. These subvariants are characterized by mutations in the spike protein – the docking site through which viruses can enter the human body. This means that the corresponding corona variants can bypass antibodies that have been formed through vaccinations or infections. This makes the FLiRT variants particularly contagious.
Results of a Study from Japanwhich will be published in August 2024 in the scientific journal The Lancet published, now suggest that KP.3.1.1 is more contagious than its predecessors XBB.1.5 and JN.1. Antibodies against these variants are likely to be much less effective against the currently dominant variant. According to MDR Knowledge The new Corona variant is characterized by these symptoms:
- Fever
- chills
- Cough
- shortness of breath
- fatigue
- Pain in limbs
Patients also frequently report headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, as well as nausea and diarrhea. The latter could even be an early symptom of KP.3.1.1.
By the way: Since August 2024 there has been a new corona vaccine that is specifically tailored to the JN.1 variant.
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Deborah Dillmann Icon check mark in circle Icon plus in circle
