JN.1 Covid Variant Raises Concerns in Kerala
Kerala health officials on Saturday detected a case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 in the state. A 79-year-old woman turned positive for sub-variant JN.1 viruses. According to India Today, the patient had mild symptoms of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and had recovered from COVID-19.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found out that JN.1 is a subvariant of BA.2.86, which was first detected in the United States in September 2023. According to the report, Kerala is under the surveillance of the India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a multi-laboratory, multi-agency, pan-Indian network tasked with sequencing and monitoring new dangerous Covid-19 variants.
A native of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli tested positive for the JN.1 sub-variant in Singapore on October 25. Meanwhile, no other cases were further detected in Tiruchirapalli district or other places in Tamil Nadu after the strain was detected in Singapore. “No other case of the JN.1 variant has been detected in India,” the source said, as reported by PTI.
The updated vaccines and treatments are capable of defending the JN.1 sub-strain, PTI reported, quoting sources.
Should We Be Worried?
While speaking to news agency ANI, INSACOG Chief, NK Arora, said, “This variant has been isolated and reported in November; this is a subvariant of BA.2.86. We have some cases of JN.1.” Further adding, he said, “India is keeping a vigil, and that”s the reason no hospitalization or severe disease has been reported so far.”
“After a seven-month gap, cases are rising in India. In Kerala, there are reports of people getting COVID, but the severity so far appears to be the same as before,” LiveMint reported, quoting Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association COVID Task Force.
“Genome sequencing pinpoints what type of virus is circulating in each region. For example, in India, during the April 2023 wave, XBB sublineages were found to cause it. However, the December genome sequencing results are still coming in, and early results show that a JN.1 case was found in Kerala,” he added.
Jayadevan said that the JN.1 variant is capable of spreading faster and evading immunity, according to the report.
