New Covid variant: Govt issues advisory as JN.1 sub variant detected in India | 10 updates

A new coronavirus variant named JN.1 has been detected, causing concerns among doctors, experts authorities, and the public alike. The Covid-19 subvariant JN.1 is a descendant of BA.2.86. In the wake of the new Covid variant, India's active caseload surged to 1,828 on Monday. Besides one death was reported in Kerala, where the JN.1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detected. Henceforth, the central government has issued an advisory to the state governments urging them to make adequate health arrangements.

Here are the top 10 updates about the new Covid variant

• The JN.1 Covid subvariant was first detected in Luxembourg and is a descendant of the Pirola variant (BA.2.86), which itself stems from the Omicron sub-variant.

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• The new Covid variant contains a significant number of unique mutations, particularly in the spike protein, that may contribute to increased infectivity and immune evasion.
• Symptoms of JN.1 new Covid variant include fever, runny nose, sore throat, and headache. Most patients may experience mild upper respiratory symptoms, which typically improve within four to five days.

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• In India, the Covid subvariant JN.1 has been detected in Kerala so far.
• A 79-year-old woman had returned a positive result in an RT-PCR test on November 18, they said, adding that she had mild symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) and had recovered from Covid-19.
• More than 90% of the Covid cases in India at present are mild and in home isolation.

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• An Indian traveller was also detected with JN.1 sub-variant in Singapore. The person was a native of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli district and had travelled to Singapore on October 25.

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• According to Rajeev Jayadevan, the National Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force's co-chairman, "JN.1 is a severely immune-evasive and fast-spreading variant. This enables it to infect people who had previous Covid infections and also people who were vaccinated".
• The India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), which is a multi-laboratory, multi-agency, pan-India network tasked with sequencing and keeping an eye on new threatening Covid-19 variants, has done surveillance where JN.1 has been found in Kerala.

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• The Karnataka government ruled out the need to restrict movement on the border at present adding that the government has ensured all precautionary measures.

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• Currently, Karnataka reports 58 active cases, with 11 hospitalized and one Covid-related death, compounded by other comorbidities.
• In the United States, JN.1 was first detected in September 2023.