The new Covid KP.2 variant was detected for the first time in Italy: it is the latest mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is spreading very rapidly in the United States and in a few weeks has become prevalent compared to the its predecessor, the JN.1 variant.
It was predictable, perhaps inevitable. The new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the KP.2 variant, has arrived in Italy. This was reported byHigher Institute of Health (ISS) in its usual monitoring of the presence of Covid-19 in Italy, which in the week since April 25 to May 1, 2024 he noted two cases of infections due to the new variant. KP.2 descends from JN.1but compared to the latter it seems to be more transmissible and capable of better resisting the immune barrier provided by the vaccines available today.
It is clear, we must not give in to the trap of useless alarmism, the pandemic is long over. But it would also be a mistake to underestimate the news: the KP.2 variant is indeed generating some fear more than its predecessors, especially in the United States, where in the space of a few weeks it has already surpassed JN.1. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the centers that monitor the evolution of infectious diseases in the United States, the new variant it was detected in one in four cases.
What we know about the KP.2 variant
Without causing premature and unmotivated alarmism, it must be said that this variant he is under special observation by experts: a recent study, published in the journal bioRxiv, observed the presence in the KP.2 variant of a new alteration in the Spike protein, through which the virus infects cells. But above all, this study showed that the new variant would spread more easily and would be able to overcome the protection produced by vaccines.
A new Covid variant worries the United States: KP.2 can resist vaccines
In reality, two other studies, one conducted in China and one in Japan, had already observed a greater ability to overcome the immune barrier conferred by vaccines from FLIRT variants, of which KP.2 is part, compared to JN.1. This acronym refers to a group of SARS-CoV-2 mutations that developed starting from JN.1
The situation outside Italy
According to data released by the CDC in the week since 14 to 27 April 2024 In cases, KP.2 was detected in 24.9% of infections compared to 22% attributed to its competitor. That is almost one in four cases.
Precisely in light of this rapidity of spread, there has been talk again about the risk of a new summer wave in the United States. However, according to experts it is too early to make reliable predictions, also because, if it is true that the variant is more contagious than the previous ones, it is to be expected – the experts explain – that those who have been infected by its predecessor, namely the JN .1, he will not be infected again from the new variant.
