Lead
At the beginning of New Year's Day 2022, a global new crown epidemic is hot until the second winter.
At this time, however, news of a more dangerous new variant of the coronavirus began to spread rapidly.
This new variant of the coronavirus is KP.2, also known as FLiRT by experts.
FLiRT spread rapidly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries, causing the market to pay attention to it.
What are the characteristics of this new variant of the coronavirus?
How should the mainland and the rest of the world face the new challenges of the pandemic?
1. KP.2 spreads rapidly.
In terms of name, the new variant of KP.2 is related to KP.1, so what is KP.1?
Worldwide, there are three main types of new coronavirus: one is the B-series from India, which also accounts for the largest proportion of the total number of infections in the world;
One is the A-series, which broke out in Spain.
In the United States, the most common is the C series from Asia, so the new variants of the new coronavirus that we usually refer to are usually JN.1 from the United States.
So what is the new variant of KP.1?
Not long ago, the United States officially announced to the world that a new variant of the new coronavirus from Arizona, KP.1, is the next generation of JN.1.
The U.S. official did not have a very in-depth investigation and explanation of the new KP.1 variant, but simply conveyed such a message to the world, but it also attracted the attention of experts and the majority of netizens.
After a period of time, there is not much news about the new variant of KP.1 circulating in China, and everyone is paying attention to the new variant of the new coronavirus that is being urgently dealt with in the mainland.
However, with the official announcement of the United States again, in the United States, the new KP.2 variant has accounted for more than a quarter of the cases of infection in the United States, that is, more than half of the new coronavirus infections in Americans are the new KP.2 variant.
This is a very large number, and based on this spreading trend, it is very likely that the new variant K.2 will surpass JN.1 and become a new threat.
In the sewers of Houston, this new variant of the coronavirus has been spotted.
Local authorities have begun to implement prevention and control measures for the new KP.2 variant, strengthen the monitoring of the new coronavirus, and also urge citizens to go out as little as possible to reduce the possibility of transmission outside the home.
In the United States, the spread of KP.2 is very fast, and almost overnight, new variants of KP.2 have crossed the territory of the United States and spread around the world.
Not only that, but the new KP.2 variant also spread overnight to countries such as Canada, Canada, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and England, making the alarm about the new KP.2 variant in these countries follow the deletion of the United States.
In the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research on new variants of KP.2 has finally concluded that the new variants of KP.2 are more contagious.
Compared with its predecessor JN.1, KP.2 has a more obvious transmissibility advantage, and on the basis of data, KP.2 has a wider range of infection and a higher infection rate.
In the United States, most people infected with the new coronavirus are carriers of the new KP.2 variant, and in England, because of the rapid spread of KP.2, it has almost occupied the overall epidemic prevention and control situation in the whole country.
In Canada, under the leadership of KP.2, Canada's national security and people's health are at stake.
The infection rate is extremely high within the transmission range of KP.2, and once a person is infected with KP.2, it will quickly spread to the surrounding population, forming a new wave of the epidemic.
2. The transmissibility of KP.2.
The spread of KP.2 is due to the fact that the new variant of KP.2 contains a mutant protein called the S protein.
The main function of the S protein is to sensitively sense some airborne parameters in the surrounding space where the new coronavirus should be transmitted, and then some adjustments can be made to these parameters, so that the new coronavirus in the air is easier to be transmitted and not easy to be found and cleared by immunity.
The N501Y mutation in the S protein can make the S protein more transmissible, resulting in a higher infection rate and wider spread, forming a wave of KP.1 epidemic.
The new KP.2 variant has further enhanced the S protein, with a double mutation in the S protein, which is a major breakthrough for the new coronavirus.
In the process of research, the researchers found that the double mutation of N679K and Q677H in KP.2 can make the S protein more hydrophobic, so as to better exert greater propagation advantages.
Intuitively, KP.2 does have a wider range of infections and correspondingly higher infection rates, but there are also many concerns about the transmissibility and consequences of the new KP.2 variant.
On the one hand, there are concerns that if the new variant of KP.2 becomes more transmissible, the Kp.2 virus is likely to evade people's immunity, causing the current vaccines to become ineffective, leading to a larger outbreak on a global scale.
On the other hand, some experts believe that although KP.2 is more contagious, it has not been proven that KP.2 causes more severe disease, so the vaccine is still effective, so there is no need to be overly concerned at this time.
In mainland China, no signs of KP.2 transmission have been found, and the main circulating strain nationwide is the JN.1 series variant, of which B.1.1.529 is the main strain.
3. The origin of the new variant KP.2.
The new KP.2 variant is another descendant of JN.1.
In the United States, a patient who was confirmed to be positive for the new coronavirus, known as a "carrier", carried a new variant of the new coronavirus that is different from JN.1.
Researchers have conducted in-depth research on this new variant of the new coronavirus, and finally found that this new variant is able to evade people's immunity, which is likely to trigger a new wave of epidemics.
The researchers named the new variant, KP.2, which in turn is FLiRT, and also has the classic triple mutation.
FLiRT is different from its predecessor, the KP.1, and this new variant is likely to trigger a whole new wave of pandemics.
Although the U.S. authorities failed to monitor and notify KP.1 in time at the beginning, after the discovery of KP.2, the U.S. authorities conducted a comprehensive study of it in a timely manner and released information about the new variant of KP.2 to the world.
After all, this is not only about the prevention and control of the epidemic in the United States, but also about the international community, as a global public health challenge, it also needs to be shared and responded to together.
At present, the understanding of the new variant of KP.2 is still very limited, but it is certain that KP.2 is more dangerous and more likely to infect humans than KP.1.
As the novel coronavirus continues to mutate, the world also needs to strengthen corresponding surveillance and prevention and control measures to respond to the spread of new variants in a timely manner to avoid the epidemic getting out of control again.
The spread of the new KP.2 variant also reminds people of the importance of vaccination, and only when enough people in the population are vaccinated and the majority of the population has antibodies, can the epidemic be truly effectively controlled.
At the same time, it is also necessary for the mainland to strengthen the traceability of the new crown virus and the implementation of the virus prevention and control strategy, and do a good job in the reserve of various medical devices, so as to lay a solid foundation for the mainland's epidemic prevention work.
In the U.S., once a person is infected with the new coronavirus, a wave of the epidemic will soon form in the surrounding population.
Therefore, people also need to pay more attention and be cautious about the new variants of KP.2.
epilogue
As the virus continues to mutate, so does the spread of new variants.
Research into the new variant of KP.2 in the United States and around the world is still in its early stages, so more seriousness is needed.
There is only a short period of recuperation, but people still need to react early to prepare for the new challenges of the epidemic in the future.