It seems that COVID-19 is in no mood to leave us alone anytime soon, as new variants appear every now and then. One such new subvariant of the virus, JN.1, which has raised concerns in the US, has now been detected in the Indian state of Kerala. Meanwhile, the US continues to observe the emergence of new Covid variants and is now trying to get the HV.1 variant under control.
JN.1, a descendant of Pirola or BA.2.86, raised concerns for Kerala’s health system as it was first detected in the state, evading India’s genome tracing efforts. According to experts, the new variant may have a potential impact on already emerging cases in the state.
A new subvariant of COVID-19 JN.1 has been detected in Kerala
The presence of the latest subvariant in Kerala was confirmed by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
Dr Rajeeb Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid Task Force, said JN.1 could be a contributing factor to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India, specifically in Kerala.
The number of active cases in India has reached 938, with Kerala recording the highest number of patients with a total of 768.
The new variant was first detected in Europe in August 2023. The first case of the new variant was reported by Luxembourg, followed by England, Iceland, France and the USA. Researchers in the US have found that the JN.1 variant is more infectious because it can escape immunity from the vaccine.
The US now faces HV.1
Meanwhile, the United States is now seeing another spike in Covid cases due to the HV.1 variant. The country is already going through respiratory virus season and Covid is making it worse. After JN.1 and EG.5 or Eris, HV.1 became the dominant variant in the region and represents an estimated one-third of cases nationwide.
HV.1 quickly began to spread in October and November.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HV.1 accounts for nearly 30 percent of new COVID-19 infections in the U.S., while JN.1 accounts for about 21 percent of new COVID-19 cases.
Experts say the number of new cases is expected to rise as the winter season begins.
Decoding JN.1, a new variant of COVID-19
JN.1 is a descendant of the Omicron BA.2.86 subvariant. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified it as a “notable progeny line” of Omicron, indicating its potential for increased transmissibility or immune evasion.
JN.1 carries a mutation that gives him extra abilities to evade immunity. A preprint paper testing how the new vaccines performed against HV.1 also showed that they produced antibodies effective against JN.1, but not as much.
Signs and symptoms:
Fever
Coughing
Tiredness
Nasal congestion
Runny nose
Diarrhea
Headaches
