All you should know about JN.1 Coronavirus sub-variant: Symptoms and prevalence

Hyderabad: There has been a surge in Covid cases in the country and a new sub-variant of Omicron (BA.2.86 variant) called JN.1 has also been detected.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called JN.1 ‘a variant of interest’ (VOI), which means that the strain is worrying or significant enough to initiate investigations by the countries, such as laboratory studies and field investigations of its outbreaks. Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying JN.1 as a separate VOI from its parent lineage BA.2.86.

In India, JN.1 was first detected in Kerala

After genome sequencing of the virus, the variant JN.1 was identified in an elderly woman in Thiruvananthapuram district on December 8 who had a mild influenza-like illness but subsequently recovered from the virus.

Goa has reported around 19 cases of the JN.1 variant while one case was reported in Maharashtra, taking the total number of JN.1 variant cases in the country to 21 by December 20, 2023. This sub-variant was first detected in the US in September 2023 and now 27 per cent of global Coronavirus cases conform to this variant.

Disease severity is not too high

As per WHO, considering the limited available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low at the global level. It is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in SARS-CoV-2 cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season.

However, the available limited evidence does not suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants. However, SARS-CoV-2 and co-circulating pathogens may exacerbate the respiratory disease burden.

A rapid increase of JN.1 prevalence globally

Globally, a rapid increase in the proportion of JN.1 has been reported, with its current global prevalence at 27.1 per cent, which is a substantial rise from a month ago, when the prevalence was just 3.3 per cent (30 October to 5 November 2023).

As of 16 December, there were 7,344 JN.1 sequences submitted to GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data) from 41 countries, representing 27.1 per cent of the globally available sequences in the epidemiological week 48 (November 27 to December 3).

The countries reporting the largest proportion of JN.1 sequences are France (20.1 per cent, 1,552 sequences), USA (14.2 per cent, 1,072 sequences), Singapore (12.4 per cent, 934 sequences), Canada (6.8 per cent, 512 sequences), UK (5.6 per cent, 422 sequences), and Sweden (5 per cent, 381 sequences).

Key symptoms of JN.1 variant

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), JN.1 can cause mild gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain and diarrhoea apart from the usual viral infection symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose, fatigue, headache etc. Though symptoms are usually mild, breathlessness can be a cause of concern.

Dr Kiran Madhala, professor and anaesthesiologist at Nizamabad Government Hospital said, “JN.1 is a sub-variant of Omicron’s BA.2.86 strain and the symptoms are more or less similar to those of Omicron variants. Its prevalence is 27 per cent globally and around 12 per cent in India as per the results of sample testing. Though there is no need to panic, people should be vigilant and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour such as masking up in crowded places, maintaining hand hygiene etc and should take extra caution if they are elderly, have co-morbidities and are immune-compromised.”