KP.1 and KP.2 strains responsible for COVID-19 resurgence, says Minister in Parliament 

KP.1 and KP.2 strains responsible for COVID-19 resurgence, says Minister in Parliament 

Subject: Science and Tech

Sec: Health

Context:

Two strains, namely KP.1 and KP.2, are responsible for the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in India, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda told the Lower House during a recent session of Parliament.

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• These strains evolved from the JN1 Omicron variant and are highly transmissible, causing symptoms that include fever, cold, cough, sore throat, body ache, and fatigue, which were generally not severe.
• He admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic saw the emergence of various strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• The KP mutant strain had been reported from Maharashtra (417), West Bengal (157), Uttarakhand (64), Rajasthan (48), and Gujarat (42). Until June 15, India had sequenced 336,892 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes, out of which 301,451 were sequenced by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing (INSACOG).

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• The Minister said the Government has taken measures to monitor the spread of new strains.
• The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has implemented the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) in all 36 States/UTs as part of the National Health Mission.
• The programme is responsible for the surveillance of 40 plus epidemic prone diseases. A constant watch is maintained for emerging and re-emerging diseases. The Department of Health Research (DHR) has sanctioned 163 Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) across India to improve virus detection and research.
• The House was also informed that the Central Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to prepare the country for public health emergencies such as new and emerging disease outbreaks. PM-ABHIM will enhance the capacity of primary, secondary, and tertiary health care facilities and institutes to identify and manage new and emerging diseases.
• The strengthening of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), establishment of regional NCDCs, setting up of a network of Bio-Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratories, strengthening of public health units at points of entry, establishment of Health Emergency The NCDC says that the INSACOG network conducts Whole Genomic Sequencing for the timely detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

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• INSACOG is a consortium of 67 laboratories and 400+ sentinel sites to monitor the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2.
• The NCDC acts as the lead agency for Indian SARS CoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
• “Maintaining hygiene, a high level of awareness, early detection, and management of the disease, strict Central government surveillance measures, keeping medical staff alert about virulent strains, and keeping hospitals in a state of preparedness to manage any surge is the way forward. The general public must also be alert and take particular care of vulnerable groups,’.
• States and Union Territories have been advised to ensure adequate testing in all districts as per COVID-19 testing guidelines, maintain a state of constant vigil over the COVID situation, ensure adequate testing, including a higher number of RT-PCR tests, and send positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories.

Evolution of the KP.1 and KP.2 Strains:

• The KP.1 and KP.2 strains have evolved from the 1 Omicron variant, a variant of SARS-CoV-2 that has been widely prevalent in many parts of the world.
• These strains exhibit high transmissibility, which has contributed to the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases across several states in India.

Clinical Impact of the KP Strains:

• Although the1 and KP.2 strains are highly transmissible, they have not been associated with increased severity of illness.
• The symptoms reported, such as fever, cold, cough, sore throat, body ache, and fatigue, are generally mild and have not led to a significant rise in hospitalizations.
• Union Health Minister emphasized that the government has taken appropriate measures to monitor these new strains and has assured the public that the situation is under control.

Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing (INSACOG):

• It is a national initiative established in 2020, by the Government of India to monitor and analyze genomic variations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• This multi-agency consortium includes 54 laboratories and is coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

INSACOG’s primary objectives are to:

• Monitor genomic variations of SARS-CoV-2 through systematic sequencing.
• Analyze the relationship between these genomic variations and epidemiological trends, which aids in understanding transmission dynamics and outbreak patterns.
• Investigate clinical correlations, including the impact of variants on disease severity and vaccine efficacy

Trump-Musk interview on X reportedly hit by DDoS attack: What it means

What is a DDoS attack?

• A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack simply means that a website or any other online service cannot be accessed because it has been the target of attacks from a malicious
• According to the US government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, this targeting is done by directing a large number of users against a particular online server at the same time to “flood” it.
• Bots can also be used to overwhelm the network, resulting in slow loading times or a total pause in internet services.
• Computers connect to the Internet and one another through unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses assigned to each device. The data they exchange is divided into smaller chunks, called “packets”.
• By using up a resource’s available bandwidth, DDoS attacks prevent these resources from responding to legitimate connection requests and packets.”
• In the case of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, multiple sources work against one target. This makes the culprit harder to locate.

How do DoS and DDoS attacks work?

• There are different ways of carrying out DOS attacks. Botnets, which are networks of compromised devices, can be deployed by potential attackers.
• In a “Smurf Attack”, the attacker sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) broadcast packets to several hosts. The ICMP can be normally used to communicate data transmission errors to systems, but in this case, attackers send it maliciously.
• While communicating, attackers use a spoofed source IP address which actually belongs to the target machine. As the target machines respond, they end up flooding their own servers, resulting in a DDoS attack.
• Then there is an “SYN flood”, which occurs when an attacker sends a request to connect to the target server but does not complete the connection. Normally, the request source asks for a connection, and then the target accepts by sending an acknowledgement. Finally, the request source finalises the connection.
• In this case, the attacker sends a request and receives an acknowledgement, but does not complete the connection. Multiple, targeted incomplete connections again result in a load for the server, making it difficult to complete legitimate connections smoothly.

What are the signs of a DoS attack and how can it be dealt with?

Slowing internet speed and inability to access an online service are signs of a DoS attack. However, firewalls and online security systems are the best sources for verifying this because internet issues can also be the result of other factors.

Types of Cyber Attacks

• Malware, short for malicious software refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.
• Phishing: It is the method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites.
• Denial of Service attacks: A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.
• Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, also known as eavesdropping attacks, occur when attackers insert themselves into a two-party transaction. Once the attackers interrupt the traffic, they can filter and steal data.