The ministry reports that Delhi’s lone JN.1 Covid-19 sufferer is recovering

Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated on Thursday that there is no need to panic and that the 50-year-old patient has already recovered. This comes a day after the Delhi government confirmed that the Capital has reported its first case of the JN.1 sub-variant of COVID-19.

States are required to submit samples of all positive Covid-19 test swabs for whole genome sequencing, under the Center’s directive. The instruction was issued a week after JN.1 cases, a subvariant of the Omicron variant, in many states raised concerns that it would start larger outbreaks. However, authorities have not yet seen a rise in the number of hospital admissions or reports of severe sickness. Additionally, they have emphasized that the new variation is known to have a low fatality rate and mild symptoms.

According to Bharadwaj, out of the three COVID-19 samples that were submitted for genome sequencing, two revealed different Omicron variations, while one tested positive for the JN.1 sub-variant. “The patient was released after making a full recovery. There were no consequences, and her symptoms were modest. There aren’t any JN.1 cases open right now in Delhi, the man said.

The minister went on to say that all samples that test positive for COVID-19 would have their genomes sequenced by the government in order to keep an eye on the new variation. “We performed 636 tests on Wednesday, and based on the number of patients reporting flu-like symptoms, we will either maintain or increase this count in the coming days,” he said.

Indeed, no mutations that may cause serious illness or death have been found since the pandemic reached an endemic stage in early 2022, after the worldwide sweep of the Omicron variety.

The JN.1 variation was discovered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be a closely related branch of the BA.2.86 variant, which was first discovered in Denmark and Israel. BA.2.86 and its sub-lineages, including JN.1, were previously categorized as a variation under monitoring (VUM), but based on additional information, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reclassified BA.2.86 and its sub-lineages as a variant of interest (VOI).

According to Dr. Ankita Baidya, an infectious diseases expert at Manipal Hospital in Delhi, the JN.1 strain has mild symptoms and a low hospitalization rate.

According to the most current WHO notice, the variation in question is prevalent due to its high transmissibility. However, there hasn’t been any evidence so far that this virus may cause serious illness. Gastrointestinal symptoms, combined with upper respiratory tract symptoms like runny nose, cold, cough, loose motion or pain in the abdomen, and nausea, are the most prevalent symptoms that we are witnessing. These are the typical symptoms of this virus, in addition to fever and chills, according to Dr. Baidya.

“If someone has these symptoms, they should get tested,” she said. Patients at high risk of developing serious illnesses need to see physicians, take the prescribed medicine, and get treatment as needed.