The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) on Monday said 2,083 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 and its lineages have been detected in the country so far.
According to the data compiled by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), there are 814 SARS-CoV-2 sequences of JN.1 across 18 states and UTs while its sub-lineage JN.1.1 has been detected in 943 cases.
JN.1.11 has been detected in 244 cases while the rest of the cases were detected in the sub-lineages of JN.1.
Last month, the Centre asked the states and Union Territories to maintain a constant vigil amid detection of new variants in the country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a separate “variant of interest” given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a “low” global public health risk.
The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Till Monday, India saw a single day rise of 112 cases of COVID-19, while the number of active cases of the infection was recorded at 1,460. No deaths have been reported in a span of 24 hours.
- Of the total active cases, a large majority of these (around 92 per cent) are recovering under home isolation.
- India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported during the delta wave during April–June 2021.
- The WHO classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” in December 2023 and in January strongly stated Covid was a continuing global health
- The JN.1 (or BA.2.86.1.1) story begins with the emergence of its parent lineage BA.2.86 around mid-2023, which originated from a much earlier (2022) omicron sub-variant BA.2.
- A recent study reveals that a fatal lung disease that begins with dry cough, causes breathing difficulty, and worsens over years may have played a significant role in the deaths caused by Covid-19 infections. The disease called interstitial lung disease (ILD), goes undetected for years.
