India steps up vigilance against JN.1 variant

The Indian state of Kerala has seen a significant spike in new Covid-19 cases following the discovery of JN.1, a sub-variant of Covid-19 that has previously been found in several countries, including the US and China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says all approved Covid-19 vaccines will continue to provide protection against JN.1.

Kerala has 1,324 cases of Covid-19 and reported four deaths from the disease last week, a figure officials say is due to the state’s high testing rate.

However, it is not clear how many of these cases are linked to JN.1. Only a small number of samples are routinely sequenced to track different variants of the virus.

According to Indian officials, the JN.1 variant was found in Kerala earlier this month in a positive RT-PCR sample. The JN.1 sub-variant was detected as part of the ongoing routine surveillance exercise by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium of Genomics (INSACOG), they said.

The patient was a 79-year-old woman who had mild flu-like symptoms and recovered.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George added on December 17 that the variant was already present in other parts of the country. “The variant was detected in some Indians who were screened at Singapore airport months ago,” George told reporters.

In view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the Indian government has asked states to report and monitor influenza (ILI) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARI) regularly at the district level. They have also been advised to ensure adequate testing, including increased RT-PCR testing and sending samples to INSACOG laboratories for genome sequencing.

The Union Health Ministry also requested states to adopt necessary public health management and other measures to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 and ensure effective compliance with the guidelines issued under the Union Health Ministry's revised Covid-19 surveillance strategy.

Minh Hoa (reported by VOV, Ho Chi Minh City Police)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/an-do-tang-cuong-canh-giac-truoc-bien-the-jn1-a641401.html