Alert in the US for a new sub-variant of the coronavirus – What is JN.1 and what causes it

An alarm has been sounded on USA by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a new subvariant of it coronaviruswhich seems to has the ability to evade the immune system’s defenses.

This new sub-variant, which is known as “JN.1”, so far it accounts for almost 30% of cases in the country and “hospitalizations are increasing rapidly,” according to the latest update. As stated in his publication CBSthis is a large increase from November, when the corresponding figure was at 8.8%.

The CDC is urging citizens to get vaccinated as the peak of this year’s combination of three seasonal respiratory viruses — flu, COVID-19 and RSV — approaches. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out, pediatric hospitals in some parts of the US are filling up, and emergency room admissions nearly doubled in school-aged children last week.

An increase in cases of coronavirus has also occurred in nursing homes in recent weeks. These are higher percentages compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

It is noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified this subvariant as of high interest.

‘JN.1’ is closely related to Omicron’s BA.2.86, which was first spotted in August 2022. “JN.1” was first identified in September 2023 and currently cases are reported in at least 12 countries. Its symptoms are similar to those caused by other strains and include: sore throat, runny nose, cough, fatigue, headache, myalgia, fever or chills and bad breath.

The severity of a person’s symptoms depends largely on their overall health, i.e. whether they have underlying diseases and how strong their immunity is.

Source: News Beast

You may also like