Experts have issued an urgent warning about a highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly during Australia’s winter season.
The new coronavirus strain, LB.1, is a successor to the JN.1 variant and its subvariants KP.2 and KP.3, which were responsible for most of the new infections between May 7 and June 11.
LB.1 is similar to the FLiRT variant, both of which are Omicron subvariants and have been spreading in Australia since April. However, LB.1 has more mutations than FLiRT.
Symptoms of the LB.1 strain include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
Pail Griffin, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Queensland, said the variant was also “slightly” more contagious than previous variants.
“When the spike protein changes it means our protection from previous infections or vaccinations is reduced and therefore they become slightly more infectious,” Mr Griffin told SBS News.
Professor Adrian Esterman, professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Australia, also confirmed that the new strain is highly contagious.
‘Although LB.1 is almost certainly more infectious than KP.2, it does not appear to outcompete KP.3 and its descendants,’ said Professor Esterman.
“It’s problematic because it overlaps significantly with our flu season. And we’ve also got other things like mycoplasma and whooping cough circulating, so it means there are a lot of people with respiratory infections at the moment.”
Experts have warned that the new coronavirus variant, known as LB.1, is highly contagious
Symptoms of the LB.1 strain include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
There is no conclusive information yet on whether LB.1 is more serious than other variants.
However, a person’s overall health and immunity are important factors that determine the severity of the infection.
Australia’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System found that hospital admissions for Covid were falling across the country. On July 9, the seven-day average was 53, down from 107 a month earlier.
However, the LB.1 strain has led to an increase in hospitalizations in the United States. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency room visits increased by more than 23 percent on July 9.
Australians are being urged to wear a face mask, stay away from people who are sick and get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus to prevent themselves from becoming infected with the new virus.
Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, an infectious disease expert and principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, explained that the current vaccine protects against severe disease.
‘The current vaccine is not very effective in providing lasting protection against infection – and has been for some time – with the current range of variants, although it does provide protection against severe disease.’