It's been four years since the Corona epidemic across the world, but its fear is still troubling people. Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) removed the Corona epidemic, which started in China in December 2019, from the list of 'Global Health Emergency' in May this year, the risk of infection has still not been reduced.

For the last few months, the pace of infection was seen to be quite controlled across the world, however, recently, due to the sub-variant JN.1 in China, there has been news of an increase in cases of infection once again. So far, seven people have been confirmed infected with it. Health experts are appealing for caution regarding this sub-variant.

The worrying thing is that the JN.1 sub-variant has already arrived in India. One case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 was reported in Kerala on December 8, official sources said. Along with this, there is also news of an increase in daily cases of infection in the country. Let us know how worrying is this new sub-variant, is there a possibility of the situation worsening once again?

Corona cases increased in Singapore also
Apart from China, there is news of an increase in Corona cases in Singapore also. Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) said the estimated number of cases from 3 to 9 December increased to 56,043, a 75% increase from 32,035 cases the previous week. Most of the people here are being found infected with the JN.1 sub-variant only.

In a media release, MOH appealed to the public to continue wearing masks and taking necessary measures to protect against COVID-19.

JN.1 has arrived in Kerala
After China and Singapore, JN.1 sub-variant has also been seen in Kerala. Here, in the sample testing of a 79-year-old woman, infection due to this variant has been confirmed. She had mild symptoms of infection, although she has now recovered. Earlier, the JN.1 sub-variant was also detected in an Indian traveler in Singapore. The man was a native of Tiruchirapalli district in Tamil Nadu and had traveled to Singapore on October 25. However, no increase in cases was seen after this strain was found in Tiruchirappalli district or other places in Tamil Nadu.

What is the nature of this new Corona variant?
According to the information received so far regarding this variant of Corona, this sub-variant is a form of Omicron's BA.2.86 variant, an additional mutation has been noted in its spike protein. Earlier cases had also been reported in the United States, which attracted the attention of health officials around the world.

JN.1, first spotted in the US in September 2023, has so far been reported in 11 other countries. According to the US CDC, it is too early to say whether it will spread more widely. However, due to the nature of BA.2.86, there is a possibility of cases increasing rapidly.

How worrying is this new sub-variant?
Generally speaking, COVID-19 symptoms are similar in most sub-variants of Omicron. According to the CDC, due to JN.1, people are experiencing problems like cough, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, fatigue, muscle-body pain, headache, sore throat, and blocked or runny nose.

Health experts say that for the last three years, there has been a surge in coronavirus cases in winter, and this time again a new variant is being alerted, hence everyone needs to be careful. However, there is little possibility that this new sub-variant will cause major problems.

(PC: Freepik)
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