KUALA LUMPUR – The latest Covid-19 variant known as JN.1 is fast-spreading and has similarities to the BA.2.86 Omicron strain, said the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The JN.1 strain is found to be more transmissible but there is no concrete evidence that it causes serious illness relative to other circulating variants.
According to the scientists, the extra spike proteins in JN.1 help the virus latch on to human cells, making it more transmissible.
It was also reported that the virus is adapting to the human immune system and evading pre-existing immunity in the population.
Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, cough, fatigue, headache and muscle aches.
It also has one more mutation compared to its parent strain BA.2.86, which had 30 mutations more than the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant.
XBB.1.5 was also known as the most dominant strain in 2023, which is targeted in the updated vaccines.
CDC had been tracking the JN.1 variant since August. It was first detected in September in Luxembourg before it spread to the United Kingdom, Iceland, France and the United States.
China has detected seven infections of the JN.1 strain with a low prevalence level but authorities could not rule out the possibility of it becoming a dominant strain in the country due to imported cases.
Covid-19 cases in the US have increased by 11% in the past recent week. In Malaysia, there are more than 20,000 active cases.
Malaysia is mulling a non-mandatory third Covid-19 booster shot for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those with comorbidities. – December 17, 2023