JN.1 Covid variant: 21 cases found in India:
News about the JN.1 Covid variant reaching India surfaced, with 2669 new active cases recorded within 24 hours on Thursday. The Union Health Ministry noted increased Covid cases in Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Karnataka. Dr. V K Paul, a member of NITI Aayog specializing in health, reported on Wednesday that India has confirmed 21 cases of the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 to date.
In a recent announcement, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated the COVID-19 strain JN.1 as a distinct “variant of interest” (VOI) due to its notable surge in global spread. Despite this classification, the WHO emphasizes that the JN.1 variant poses a “low” risk to global public health.
However, in recent weeks, JN.1 continues to be reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has rapidly increased globally. India has also reported its first case of the JN.1 variant. It now represents the vast majority of BA.2.86 descendent lineages reported to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The JN.1 variant has been reported in the USA, China, Singapore, and India, according to India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Seven cases of the variant have been reported from China.
Kerala reported 300 new active cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths on 20th December, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Haryana government said RT-PCR tests will be conducted for Influenza-like Illnesses. Delhi government is also on alert amid the entry of new Covid variant in the country.
Gujarat currently has 13 active coronavirus cases, but all the patients are under home isolation. Goa has reported 19 active Covid cases but all patients have mild symptoms of the infectious disease.
)
The World Health Organization has designated JN.1 as a distinct “variant of interest” due to its swift spread, but it has stated that the global public health risk is “low.” The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is actively engaged in the genome sequencing of the newly identified JN.1 variant.
