A PROMINENT virologist said this morning (Jan. 11) that a new Covid-19 strain, JN.1, has now taken hold in Thailand and is turning into the most widespread variant as it is highly contagious and this leading to a spike in the number of patients, Naewna newspaper said.
Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, said in a Facebook post that a test of 14 samples in December, with there being a few more to be analysed but the total is low because of limited budget, shows JN.1 is the most common strain.
This variant first appeared in the US and mutated from the BA.2.86 strain, nicknamed Pilora, the name of an asteroid. It is highly contagious and spreads quickly and is expected to replace all other Covid variants.
People who get infected by this new stain have mild symptoms with some only having a cold and sore throat like common respiratory infections. It is easy to catch it and once you do, you can get infected again.
This has led to a rapid increase in the number of Covid patients especially at the start of the New Year.
However Dr. Yong expects the total Covid patients to drop in Feb. and significantly in March and the situation calm down by June.
He added that his centre is continuously monitoring Covid strains despite limited budget which is why the samples are not large. However it was discovered that the dominant Covid strain in Nov. was HK3 with JN.1 surging ahead in Dec. It turned into the dominant strain this month because of how rapidly it is spreading.
The severity of the disease has not changed and what is being studied right now is how existing immunity is able to withstand the new strain including those who had been vaccinated or previously infected.
According to a report on 9news.com.au, JN.1 is descended from BA.2.86, or Pirola, a subvariant that came to the world’s attention over the summer because of the large number of changes to its spike proteins: more than 30.
Scientists feared that it was so mutated that it would completely escape the protection of vaccines and antibodies against Covid-19, perhaps sparking another tidal wave of illness the way the original Omicron variant did in 2021.
That never happened, but BA.2.86 hung around, growing very slowly.
JN.1 then developed from that.
Is this variant more dangerous?
The World Health Organisation said the public health risk from JN.1 is “low”.
However it is said there could be an “increase” in cases.
The WHO notes while there was limited data, two studies showed there was no higher risk of needing hospital treatment with this strain.
Signs and symptoms of JN.1
The US Centres for Disease Control said it’s not known if any new symptoms stand out compared with other strains.
Covid-19 symptoms include a sore throat, cough, fever, congestion and runny nose, fatigue and muscle aches.
CAPTIONS:
Top: A representative image of Covid-19 published by India Today
Insert and Front Page: Dr Yong Poovorawan. Photo: INN News
Also read: Public warned to not believe Covid fake news
Move to reduce agricultural sector’s PM 2.5 emission by 50%
Young Irishman in ICU after being bitten by mosquito in Thailand
Hospital being probed for allegedly turning away Taiwanese tourist leading to his death
