New COVID-19 variant JN.1

18.12.2023

New COVID-19 variant JN.1 , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

 Why in the news?

A case of JN.1, a sub-variant of COVID-19 that’s currently spreading in the US and China, has been recently  found in Kerala.

Key Points

• It was found as part of the ongoing routine surveillance by INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium). 
• The sub-variant is not entirely new and has been detected in small numbers in many countries for several months now. 
• JN.1 was first detected in September 2023 in the United States.

About JN.1

• The sub-variant JN.1 is a close relative of the 2.86 variant, commonly referred to as Pirola.
• Pirola was on the watchlist of scientists as a variant of interest because of more than 39 mutations it carried on the spike protein as compared to its predecessor.
• It carries just one additional mutation in the spike protein as compared to its relative.
• Mutations on the spike protein of Sars-CoV-2 are important because they are the ones that attach to receptors on human cells and allow the virus to enter it.
• JN.1 is a severely immune-evasive and fast-spreading variant, markedly different from XBB and all other prior versions of this virus. 

Can this variant lead to an increase in cases?

• There were concerns that Pirola might be able to more effectively evade immunity and spread quickly. However, that hasn’t happened.
• The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the updated vaccines available have demonstrated the ability to effectively block Pirola infections.
• Hence, it is optimistic that the available vaccines will provide protection against JN.1 as well.
• Experts say that immunity from previous infections and immunisation with vaccines containing ancestral spike protein are likely to protect against newer variants as well.

Are JN.1 cases on the rise?

• The WHO said that Pirola and its descendants accounted for 17 per cent of the Sars-CoV-2 sequences uploaded to the global database.
• More than half of these sequences were that of JN.1 by the beginning of December.

About Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG)

• It is a national multi-agency consortium of Genome Sequencing Laboratories (RGSLs) laboratories.
• It was established by the Government of India in December 2020 for genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in India.
• Presently, there are 28 laboratories under this Consortium which monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2.

Jointly established by:

MoH&FW, DBT, CSIR and ICMR

Objective

• To ascertain the status of Variants of Interest (VoI) and Variants of Concern (VoC) in the country
• To establish sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance mechanisms for early detection of genomic variants and assist in formulating effective public health response
• To determine the presence of genomic variants in samples collected during super-spreader events and in areas reporting increasing trend of cases/deaths etc.                                                                   

                                                                    Source:Indian Express