JN.1 COVID sub-variant cases on rise: All you need to know as WHO issues alert

As cases of respiratory diseases and new JN.1 COVID sub-variant is on the rise; the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday, December 17, said that the virus is evolving and changing. In addition, the organisation requested the member states to continue with sequence sharing and robust surveillance.

Previously, the National Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force's co-chairman, Rajeev Jayadevan, said that the JN.1 variant can spread faster and evade immunity.

The WHO also shared a video of Maria Van Kerkhove, their COVID-19 technical lead on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), explaining the reason behind the recent surges and what precautions people can take this time. 

"Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant. WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO's public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season," WHO posted on X.

Kerkhove also took to the social media platform and shared that several pathogens have increased respiratory diseases worldwide. “Respiratory diseases are increasing around the world due to a number of pathogens incl #COVID19, #flu, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumonia & othersSARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve. JN.1 (subvariant of BA.2.86) is already a VOI and continues to increase in circulation," she wrote.

In the shared video, she can be seen saying that the recent spike in the number of respiratory infections is because of several reasons, including an increase in people gathering due to the holiday season.

"It's not just COVID-19 that's circulating; we have influenza, other viruses, and bacteria. In other parts of the world, we are entering the winter months, and people are starting to gather for the holiday season. And as people gather, they spend more time indoors, especially if there is poor ventilation. These pathogens that spread efficiently between people and through the air will take advantage.

Covid-19 is one of the diseases that is currently on the rise, and this is again due to a number of factors; the virus SARS-Cov-2 is evolving, changing, and circulating in all countries," Kerkhove said.

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She added: "In some countries, we have these XBB sublineages, and they represent around 68 per cent or so of the sequences that are shared globally. The other grouping is BA.2.86, most notably JN.1 which causes the full spectrum, everything from asymptomatic infection. All the way to severe disease and death, similar to what we have seen with other Omicron sublineages."

Kerkhove also advised people to get vaccinations, “Protect yourself from infection using a number of tools. But also make sure that if you get infected, you get clinical care and get vaccinated when it's your turn to prevent severe disease and death. All COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide against severe disease and death, and this includes all the circulating variants, including JN.1," Kerkhove said.

JN.1 variant of COVID

COVID’s JN.1 variant is considered the Omicron subvariant BA.2.86 or Pirola. This variant was first detected in September 2023 in the United States.

According to the National Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force's co-chairman, Rajeev Jayadevan, the JN.1 variant is capable of spreading faster and evading immunity. "JN.1 is a severely immune-evasive and fast-spreading variant, markedly different from XBB and all other prior versions of this virus. This enables it to infect people who had previous Covid infections and also people who were vaccinated," he said, as per the new agency ANI report.

Also Read: Updated: 'Wear mask at airports': Singapore issues travel advisory as Covid cases surge due to JN.1