Maharashtra reports first case of Covid-19 JN.1 infection

The state public health department on Wednesday confirmed the first case of JN.1, Covid-19 infection in a 41-year-old man from Sindhudurg. The health department has asked all local bodies across the state to increase testing and genome sequencing.

“The samples of the 41-year-old man have tested positive for the JN.1 infection of Covid. He is mildly symptomatic. The 79-year-old woman from Kerala who was the first patient infected with the new coronavirus sub-variant JN.1 has fully recovered. We have asked to increase the number of samples tested for genome sequencing,” said Dr Pratapsinh Sarnikar, joint director of health services.

The central health ministry on Wednesday took a review meeting of the state health department considering the rising Covid cases in the state. Maharashtra has witnessed a slight increase in the Covid positivity rate from 0.28% to 1% in the last four weeks. The state government has already issued an advisory highlighting the need for increased vigilance, especially among the most vulnerable groups.

The number of genome sequencing at Pune’s BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital has declined. In the past six months only 96 samples were taken for genomic sequencing and in recent three months only 18 samples.

The central health ministry during the meeting directed the state to complete the mock drill to ensure all equipment are working. Availability of RT-PCR test kits etc should be ensured and, considering the festival season times of New Year, districts with high tourist flow should be cautious.

As per the health experts claim it shares similarities with previous Omicron strains in terms of high transmissibility and mild symptoms. However, people with morbid conditions in high-risk categories should be cautious as they will remain vulnerable irrespective of the Covid virus strain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest”, acknowledging its potential implications for public health. JN.1 carries additional mutations in the receptor binding domain (RBD), which is likely to augment its ability to infect individuals with pre-existing immunity. However, the only single change between JN.1 and BA.2.86 is in the spike protein. Spike protein is the part of a virus that vaccines target which means Covid immunisation will work against JN.1 and BA.2.86, they said.

Tanaji Sawant, health minister of Maharashtra, said, there is no need to panic and the health department is well prepared and equipped to handle any untoward spike in cases. “There is no need to panic but people should follow Covid appropriate behaviour. Similar preventive measures followed by individuals in the past are enough to prevent them from getting exposed or infected with Covid-19 infection,” he said.

Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, head, microbiology department, BJ Medical College and state coordinator for genome sequencing, said, “The JN.1, a sub-variant of Covid-19 is a sub-variant of Omicron strains and will have high transmissibility and mild symptoms. However, high-risk category people should be cautious, as all symptoms may not be as mild as other Omicron variants. However, further research is required to fully understand its behaviour, transmission, severity, and impact on immunity.”

Dr Karyakarte said there are almost no samples available for genome sequencing as the number of Covid-19 cases itself is negligible. In the past three months genome sequencing of only 18 samples was done. “We need more patients and samples to study the new JN.1 sub-variant. Currently, there is no current evidence to suggest that JN.1 leads to severe disease manifestation. However, if more patients are infected the high-risk patients contributing to them can develop severe disease manifestation,” he said.

Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said, currently there is no evidence if the severity of the diseases has increased or the hospitalisation will increase due to the new sub-variant of Covid-19.

“Infection will occur, but hospitalisation will not increase. People in high-risk groups should be asked to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, as deaths can occur in high-risk groups. However, people should not panic but be cautious,” he said.