New Covid variant 'Kappa' fuels summer wave in UK and USA
New variants of the coronavirus, KP.2 and KP.3, are spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom and the United States. The number of infections is rising, and doctors are beginning to discuss a new summer wave of the virus, reports the BBC.
5:59 PM EDT, July 6, 2024
More infections with new coronavirus variants are being recorded in the UK and the USA. Infected patients are most often carriers of the new Covid-19 variant - KP.3, also known as Kappa.
This is a new sub-variant of Omicron, which appeared along with KP.2 in June. It currently causes most cases of COVID-19, said Dr. Albert Ko from Yale School of Public Health to the portal today.com.
Dr. Ko asserts the new variant is more contagious and already accounts for 33 percent of coronavirus infections in the United States. At the same time, he mentioned that Kappa does not cause more complications or deaths.
Covid-19 Kappa attacks in the United Kingdom and the USA
Infection statistics, however, are increasingly alarming. The American government agency CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) announced in mid-June that the number of patients across the country is increasing very rapidly. For this reason, doctors are slowly talking about a new summer wave of Covid-19.
The situation is similar in the United Kingdom. The UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) is monitoring the development of the new Covid-19 virus variant. Scientists from the British Isles are more cautious and emphasize that the new variant needs to be further studied.
Both agencies emphasize that the situation is serious and needs monitoring. Patients should be aware of the symptoms if they fall ill. The new variant KP.3, known as Kappa, has characteristic signs. These include:
- muscle pain
- loss of taste and smell
- sore throat cough
- fatigue
- runny nose
- headache
- nausea
- shortness of breath
- diarrhea
- vomiting.
According to the CDC, the symptoms and ailments associated with the course of the disease vary depending on the patient and their medical history. This also concerns the type of acquired immunity (which Covid-19 vaccine the patient received). It is less important which strain of the coronavirus caused the infection.
