The newly-detected, highly transmissible JN.1 – a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 – will soon become the dominant virus strain in circulation. JN.1 infection was found to be present in over 88% of the Covid-19 samples from across the state during whole genome sequencing by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and B J Medical College (BJMC), officials said on Sunday.
The NIV and BJMC recently conducted genome sequencing of 284 Covid-19 samples out of which, 250 Covid-19 samples (88%) were found to have JN.1 infection while the remaining 34 samples (12%) were found to have eight different variants of Covid-19. Till January 14, Maharashtra has reported 250 cases of JN.1 infection with as many as 150 cases (the highest number) from Pune district. The JN.1 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is currently competing with the BA 2.86 variant of Covid-19.
The state public health department on December 20, 2023 had confirmed the first case of JN.1 Covid-19 infection in a 41-year-old man from Sindhudurg. However, the JN.1 strain was found in sewage samples of Pune city on November 22, said state health officials.
A senior official on condition of anonymity said that last year, JN.1 was detected in open drain samples of Pune city on October 30 and in sewage samples of Pune city on November 22. “The JN.1 is currently competing with BA 2.86 since Dec 1, 2023. The JN.1 might replace BA 2.86 and emerge as the sole variant. The drain samples also indicated BA 2.86 as a major lineage, followed by XBB sub-lineages. The BA 2.86, XBB 2.3 and JN.1 are key circulating lineages in open drain samples,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}A senior official on condition of anonymity said that last year, JN.1 was detected in open drain samples of Pune city on October 30 and in sewage samples of Pune city on November 22. “The JN.1 is currently competing with BA 2.86 since Dec 1, 2023. The JN.1 might replace BA 2.86 and emerge as the sole variant. The drain samples also indicated BA 2.86 as a major lineage, followed by XBB sub-lineages. The BA 2.86, XBB 2.3 and JN.1 are key circulating lineages in open drain samples,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, head of the Microbiology department at BJMC and member of the state Covid-19 task force, said that viruses are known to mutate and the old variant in circulation has been replaced by the new variant. “The JN.1 sub-lineage of Omicron will soon become the dominant strain in circulation. With the ongoing genome sequencing of Covid-19 samples, we will be able to find out which variants of the Covid-19 virus are out of circulation,” he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified JN.1 as a ‘variant of interest’ (VOI), distinct from the parent lineage BA 2.86. The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has termed it the fastest growing variant in that country.