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Word: JN.1
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Word in news
Topic: health
Word: JN.1
Concerning ‘Varient of Interest’ (VOI), seen in the news due to the new Covid-19 sub-variant, consider the following statements:
1. A variant is designated as VOI by WHO if it shows a growth advantage over other circulating variants — meaning its proportion increases along with any increase in the total number of cases.
2. A variant can be designated as VOI if it is predicted to or known to change characteristics such as transmissibility, virulence, antibody evasion, or susceptibility to therapies and diagnostics.
3. Once designated as VOI, the WHO monitors, tracks its global spread and the body also keeps assessing its public health risk and facilitates the sharing of isolates.
Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
WHY IN NEWS?
- With cases of the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 on the rise across several countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday designated it as a “variant of interest” separate from its ancestor BA.2.86 that is commonly referred to as Pirola.
- The Union health ministry has written to states and Union Territories, asking them to monitor cases of influenza-like illnesses, conduct adequate testing, and send all positive samples for whole genome sequencing.
- Karnataka has asked senior citizens to mask up. State health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao Monday said an order would be issued in this regard.
- Another 15 cases of the JN.1 variant were detected in samples from Goa, according to officials familiar with the matter.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The sub-variant JN.1 is a descendant of the BA.2.86 variant, commonly referred to as Pirola, and is not exactly new. The first cases of this variant were detected in the United States in September and the first case globally was detected as early as January this year.
- While JN.1 contains only one additional mutation on the spike protein as compared with Pirola, it has been on the watch-list of researchers because Pirola contains more than 30 mutations on the spike protein.
- Mutations on the spike protein of Sars-CoV-2 matter because they are the ones that attach to receptors on a human cell and allow the virus to enter it.
What it means to be ‘Varients of Interest’ (VOI) and ‘Varients of Concerns’?
- ‘Varients of Interest’: Variants that are less effectively neutralised in labs by antibodies from infection or vaccination and have a potential to spread.
- A variant is designated as VOI by WHO if it shows a growth advantage over other circulating variants — meaning its proportion increases along with any increase in the total number of cases.
- A variant can be designated as VOI also if it is predicted to or known to change characteristics such as transmissibility, virulence, antibody evasion, or susceptibility to therapies and diagnostics.
- Once designated as VOI, the WHO monitors and tracks its global spread. The body also keeps assessing its public health risk and facilitate sharing of isolates.
- Member states have to report cases of VOI, monitor it, and conduct field investigations to study the potential impact of the variant.
- ‘Varients of Concerns’: Variants that result in increased transmission, severe disease leading to hospitalisation, and reduce effectiveness of vaccines.
What has led to the current concerns?
There is definitely an increase in the number of cases being caused by Pirola and its close relative JN.1 globally. Cases have been detected in the USA, some European countries, Singapore, and China.
A statement from WHO said that Pirola and its descendants accounted for 17% of the Sars-CoV-2 sequences uploaded to the global database Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).
By the beginning of December, more than half of these sequences were that of JN.1. In the United States, JN.1 accounted for 15% to 29% of the circulating Covid-19 variants.
SOURCE : Indian express
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