Australians have been warned that a new strain of Covid-19 is contributing to a “sicker than usual” winter season.
KP.3, also known as FLuQE, is a subvariant of the previously more dominant FLiRT strain and contains a new mutation that makes it more infectious.
The FLiRT family is a descendant of the JN.1 variant, which caused mass infections in Australia and many other countries six months ago.
Experts fear FLuQE means Australia is in the midst of a new surge in Covid infections.
“We’re sicker than usual this winter and we’re seeing a lot of things going on at the same time,” Professor Paul Griffin from the University of Queensland told SBS.
“This means that a very significant proportion of the population is infected or has been recently infected.”
In addition to FLiRT, case numbers show Australia is experiencing waves of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mycoplasma pneumonia and whooping cough.
Professor Griffin, an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist, said he could not recall “a time when we’ve had those five things circulating in such high numbers”.
Australians have been warned that a new strain of Covid-19 is contributing to a “sicker than usual” winter season
KP.3, also known as FLuQE, is a subvariant of the previously more dominant FLiRT strain and contains a new mutation that makes it more infectious.
‘What this virus has done many times, and continues to do, is significantly change.
«Certainly, in our country, FLuQE, or KP.3, has surpassed FLiRT, or KP.2.»
NSW Health data showed the first cases of FLuQE were recorded in the state in late March.
Within two months, by late May, FLuQE had become the dominant variant circulating in the state.
New South Wales and Queensland have seen an increase in whooping cough infections, a potentially fatal respiratory infection, most severe in babies under 12 months of age.
Together, the two states have already recorded more than 10,000 cases this year.
Flu cases are also on the rise across Australia, with 16,777 cases recorded in New South Wales alone last week, roughly double the number reported two weeks earlier.