New Delhi: The Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG) has ruled out any disease severity or hospitalisation due to JN.1 sub-variants of COVID-19. The INSACOG, however, admitted that JN.1 is dominant at present. “Omicron and its recombinant variants XBB and XBB.1.16 used to be the dominant variants in India. But, for the last couple of weeks, 80 per cent of the submitted sequences are of JN.1 sub-variants,” the INSACOG said in its latest bulletin.
It further stated that since the testing and the sampling frequency of this particular variant is less in several parts of the country, the overall scenario might not be clear yet. “INSACOG is continuing the surveillance for the emerging variants,” it stated. As of this date, 2497 JN.1 variants of COVID-19 have been detected across different States in the country. Maharashtra and Karnataka reported the highest number of JN.1 variants, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal, Goa and Tamil Nadu.
JN.1 variants have also been found in Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Nagaland. Setup by the Health Ministry, INSACOG studies and monitors genome sequencing and virus variation of circulating strains of COVID-19 in the country.
Speaking to ETV Bharat on the JN.1 variant, Dr Giridhar Gyani, the general secretary of the Association of Health Care Providers (AHCP-India), said that JN.1 is not a variant of concern (VoC). “Although, it’s a Variant of Interest (VoI) we need a good number of cases from across the country to ascertain the capacity of this variant. As a limited number of cases of JN.1 have been detected till date, we need to wait for some more time to exactly know its character,” said Dr Gyani.
However, referring to the global scenario, the INSACOG said that globally over 85,000 new cases and 3,000 new deaths were reported during the 28 days from November 20 to December 17, 2023, an increase in infection of 52 per cent and a decrease of death by eight per cent, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days.
“On December 18, JN.1, a sub-lineage of the BA.2.86 Omicron variant, was designated a separate variant of interest (VOI), apart from its parent lineage BA.2.86, due to its rapid increase in prevalence in recent weeks. In comparison with BA.2.86, JN.1 has the additional L455S mutation in the spike protein,” the INSACOG said.
As of December, there were 7344 JN.1 sequences submitted to GISAID2 from 41 countries, representing 27.1 per cent of the globally available sequences. The countries reporting the largest proportion of JN.1 sequences are France (20.1 per cent, 1,552 sequences), the United States of America (14.2 per cent, 1,072 sequences), Singapore (12.4 per cent, 934 sequences), Canada (6.8 per cent, 512 sequences), the United Kingdom (5.6 per cent 422 sequences) and Sweden (5.0 per cent, 381 sequences).
“Currently, there are five variants of interest (VOI), XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 & EG.5, BA.2.86 & JN.1 and five variants under monitoring (VUMs) including DV.7, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2, and XBB.2.3. However, EG.5 remains to be the most reported VOI (now reported by 93 countries), but it has shown declining trends over the past few weeks, accounting for 36.3 per cent of sequences as compared to 53.7 per cent reported earlier,” the INSACOG said.
Read more: Covid Sub-Variant JN.1: INSACOG Says 196 Cases Detected In Country
