COVID-19 sub-strain JN.1 detected in Kerala woman

A case of COVID19 subvariant JN1 was detected in Kerala on December 8 official sources said on SaturdayThe sample from a 79yearold woman had returned a positive result in an RTPCR test on November 18 they said adding that she had mild symptoms of influenzalike illnesses ILI and had recovered from COVID19More than 90 per cent of the COVID19 cases in India at present are mild and they are in home isolation the sources saidEarlier an Indian traveller was also detected with JN1 subvariant in Singapore The person was a native of Tamil Nadus Tiruchirapalli district and had travelled to Singapore on October 25No increase in cases was observed in Tiruchirapalli district or other places in Tamil Nadu following the strain being detected in themNo other case of JN1 variant has been detected in India the source saidThe JN1 subvariant first identified in Luxembourg and since spreading to several countries is a descendant of the Pirola variant BA286It contains a significant number of unique mutations particularly in the spike protein that may contribute to increased infectivity and immune evasion a source explainedHowever initial data suggests that updated vaccines and treatments will still offer protection against JN1 substrain the source statedThis subvariants resemblance to earlier substrains with distinct spike proteins is also noteworthyMost of the changes in JN1 subvariant are found in the spike protein which likely correlates to increases in infectivity and immune evasionGlobally 3608 cases of BA286 and its subvariants have been reported mostly from Europe and North AmericaThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC however said initial data suggest that updated COVID19 vaccines will help protect against JN1 substrainIt also said an analysis from the federal governments SARSCoV2 Interagency Group suggests treatments and testing will remain effective they saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever