Hong Kong uncovers new Covid strain in local sewage waters, but officials say it’s unlikely to cause severe illness

Centre for Health Protection detects KP.2 strain as part of sewage surveillance work, but says JN.1 remains most prevalent variant

KP.2 is offshoot of Omicron variant and was first detected in India in early January, before spreading around world and becoming dominant strain in US

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Health authorities says the latest sewage surveillance data shows JN.1 and its descendant lineages account for 98.8 per cent of all detected specimens in Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:09pm, 17 May 2024Updated: 6:01pm, 17 May 2024

A new Covid-19 variant has been detected in Hong Kong’s sewage waters, health authorities have said, but stressed there is no evidence to suggest the strain can cause more severe symptoms than other offshoots.

The Centre for Health Protection said the KP.2 strain was discovered as part of sewage surveillance work, but added that JN.1 remained the most prevalent variant in the city as of Tuesday.

“But the current information does not suggest JN.1 or KP.2 will cause a more severe disease than the previously prevalent XBB and its descendant lineages,” the centre said in its weekly Covid and flu report published on Thursday.

Health authorities also said the latest sewage surveillance data as of Tuesday showed JN.1 and its descendant lineages accounted for 98.8 per cent of all detected specimens in Hong Kong.

KP.2, a strain deriving from JN.1, accounted for about 15 per cent of the Covid-19 specimens tested, it added.

The World Health Organization has listed KP.2 as a variant under observation.