{"id":133594,"date":"2023-12-21T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T08:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/21\/who-warns-of-new-covid-19-variant\/"},"modified":"2023-12-21T08:52:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T08:52:10","slug":"who-warns-of-new-covid-19-variant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/21\/who-warns-of-new-covid-19-variant\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO warns of new covid-19 variant"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Covid-19\"
Covid-19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A sub-variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus has been classified as a \u201cvariant of interest\u201d by the World Health Organization, because of \u201cits rapidly increasing spread\u201d. <\/p>\n

JN.1 has been found in many countries around the world, including India, China, UK and the United States.<\/p>\n

The risk to the public is currently low and current vaccines continue to offer protection, the WHO says.<\/p>\n

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But it warns Covid and other infections could rise this winter.<\/p>\n

Respiratory viruses such as flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and childhood pneumonia are also on the rise in the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

The virus which causes Covid is constantly changing over time and sometimes this leads to new variants developing.<\/p>\n

Omicron has been the globally dominant variant for some time.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization (WHO)\u00a0is currently tracking a number of variants of interest linked to Omicron\u00a0\u2013 including JN.1 \u2013 although none of them are deemed to be concerning.<\/p>\n

But JN.1 is spreading quickly in many corners of the world.<\/p>\n

It is currently\u00a0the fastest-growing variant in the United States,\u00a0according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, accounting for 15-29% of infections.<\/p>\n

The UK Health Security Agency says JN.1 currently makes up around 7% of positive Covid tests analysed in a lab. It said it would continue to monitor all available data on this and other variants.<\/p>\n

Winter surge<\/h2>\n

JN.1 is spreading fast in all regions, probably because it has an additional mutation in the spike protein compared to\u00a0the BA.2.86\u00a0variant from which it\u2019s descended.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in Sars-Cov-2 [coronavirus] cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season,\u201d the WHO\u2019s risk assessment says.<\/p>\n

There is still limited evidence on how capable JN.1 is of getting round the immunity offered by vaccines, the WHO says.<\/p>\n

There are no reports of people becoming more ill with this variant than previous ones.<\/p>\n

But more studies are needed to work out the health impact, the WHO says, as the number of countries reporting data on people admitted to hospital with Covid has dramatically reduced.<\/p>\n

To prevent infections and severe disease, the WHO advises:<\/p>\n

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  • wear a mask in crowded, enclosed areas<\/li>\n
  • cover up coughs and sneezes<\/li>\n
  • clean your hands regularly<\/li>\n
  • stay up to date with Covid and flu vaccinations, especially if vulnerable<\/li>\n
  • stay home if ill<\/li>\n
  • get tested if you have symptoms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n