AnotheR offshoot of the highly transmissible Omicron, JN.1, classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of interest (VOI), is reportedly spreading fast in different parts of the world. It may be recalled here that the corona virus variant, Omicron, wreaked havoc across the globe last year. Meanwhile, reports of people getting infected by this new, rapidly transmissible JN.1 is coming from different countries including the US, the UK, China and neighbouring India. According to the US's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of all the people testing positive for Covid-19 reported last week, those infected with JN.1 make up 41 per cent of the cases. CDC data further show that the proportion of the JN.1's prevalence has been found to be the highest (56.9 per cent) among the Covid-19 cases in the Northeast of the USA spanning New Jersey and New York.
In the UK, as told by the country's health security agency, lab tests have found that7.0 per cent of the Covid cases there are attributable to JN.1. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that 22 cases of JN.1 have been found as of December 21 in that country. However, no such report on JN.1 case has been made available from Bangladesh so far.
The WHO says, JN.1 cases made up 3.0 per cent of all the Covid cases globally in early November, but the figure swelled to 27.1 per cent in December. Since in winter people gather and stay longer indoors, it is also the ideal time for the respiratory diseases like flu, RSV(respiratory syncytial virus) and Covid-19 to circulate faster. That is because gatherings of the people indoors, especially in the cold season, create the condition for various strains of the corona virus to undergo more mutations than in other seasons. Evidently, winter will provide JN.1 greater opportunity to infect a larger number of people and mutate further. The WHO and different laboratories of the world are monitoring to see if JN.1 can get round the immunity that people gained through vaccination. However, JN.1's increasing incidence in the recent weeks has been behind WHO's prompt move to classify the new strain of the corona virus as VOI on December 19 because of its 'rapidly increasing spread, but not as a 'virus of concern (VOC), which indicates the Covid-19 strain's level of severity. In the cases of VOC, the virus strains can reduce effectiveness of vaccine. But the primary symptoms of JN.1 cases, so far, appear to be the same as the previous Covid-19 strains with sore throat, coughing, congestion, headache, fever, fatigue, etc. It is believed the procedures applied to diagnose or treat previous variants of Covid-19, for instance, through Covid tests and vaccination, will also work against this latest version of the corona virus. On this score, WHO's technical advisory group on Covid-19 recommended using the existing vaccines for XBB.1.5. Notably, XBB.1.5 is an Omicron descendant of concern, where X denotes a pedigree that arose through genetic recombination of two or more subvariants.
Experts are of the view that unlike in the past, new variants and subvariants of the corona virus are less likely to cause widespread infections and hospitalisation. The reason is 'herd immunity' developed with increased number of people becoming immune from earlier infections and vaccinations. However, it is yet to be seen, if JN.1 cases also show similar characteristics. In this connection, it will be necessary to watch more closely how JN.1's symptoms unfold and how they differ from other variants. Also, immunity depends on an individual's overall health and personal conditions and not exactly on which variant of a virus caused the infection. It takes time for the pattern of symptoms caused by the infection of a particular variant of virus to emerge.
Now the question is how Bangladesh should prepare itself to face the upcoming surge of infections from JN.1. Since cases of JN.1 have already been detected in India, it is a matter of time before they are found in Bangladesh, too. So, the health authorities will be required to take necessary precautionary measures to check spread of this new subvariant of Omicron. The usual health protocols against Covid-19 will also be applicable here. Unfortunately, nonchalance about the Covid-19 pandemic as was observed earlier is still prevailing among the public. Seeing that crowds at the markets and centres of entertainment are growing in size by the day, people should be made aware afresh about the importance of wearing mask, washing hands and staying at a safe distance from each other. At the same time, the health department should mount health checks at the airports, seaports, land-ports and other points of entry to the country. Steps should also be taken by the government to make corona virus test kits available in the market for those who can afford to buy those. At the same time, tests need to be made less costly and the service more easily available across the country so that the common people can access those without much hassle. Of course, vaccination programme with the existing vaccines against Covid-19 should continue as usual.
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JN.1, the new coronavirus strain
Syed Fattahul Alim | Published: December 24, 2023 18:53:02
JN.1, the new coronavirus strain
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