Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 detected in Bangladesh
Coronavirus infections with new sub-variant JN. 1 have been detected in the country.
Professor Tahmina Shirin, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said the new sub-variant JN.1 was found in the test samples of five Covid patients.
She mentioned that the five patients infected with the new variant were both from Dhaka and other regions.
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Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a notice today directing the authorities to resume the Covid-19 vaccination programme for first, second, and booster (third and fourth) doses due to a surge in infections.
JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) variant emerged in late 2023 and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS-CoV-2. BA.2.86 lineage, first identified in August 2023, is phylogenetically distinct from the circulating SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB lineages, including EG.5.1 and HK.3. BA.2.86 carries more than 30 mutations in the spike (5) protein, indicating a high potential for immune evasion.
The World Health Organization has classified JN.1 as a variant of interest.
WHO said current vaccines will continue to protect against severe disease and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants of the Covid-19 virus.
