Telangana: 31 cases of new Covid variant reported

Hyderabad: As a total of 22 cases of JN.1.1 and new cases of JN1 have been reported in Telangana, the recent variants of the corona virus that have mutated into the dominant strain of Covid.

Although testing for Covid infection in Telangana is relatively low compared to other states, the latest reports from genomic testing laboratories of the Consortium on Genomics of SARS-CoV-2 of India (INSACOG) have shown clear indications of Q.JN.1.1. YJN. There are 1 main types.

According to the results of laboratory tests between December 2023 and January 5, 2023, a total of 31 people from Telangana, all from Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, tested positive for variants JN.1.1 and JN.1.

Public health officials tracking Covid-19 in Telangana have indicated that, unless specifically prescribed by a doctor, most people with Covid-like symptoms show no interest in getting tested for Covid. Even patients who went to local Basti and Palle dispensaries to get tested returned empty handed due to the limited number of rapid diagnostic tests.

The main reason for the lack of demand for trials and even new injections to strengthen the Covid vaccine in Hyderabad is the lack of serious infections due to the JN.1 infection, which was not the case with earlier Covid variants like Delta. “It clearly appears that the new Covid variant of JN.1 is not as virulent as the previous Delta variant, which affected the lungs within a few days of infection. While cases of upper respiratory tract infections and influenza-like illnesses have increased in ambulatory patient rooms, it also showed that people who have tested positive are recovering without major health complications. In this case, there is a need to take care of older people or those with pre-existing diseases”, says Dr G Nagendra, Superintendent of OGH.

Interestingly, unlike Telangana, in neighboring Karnataka and other states, the process of collecting samples and testing the genome to detect JN.1, as part of Covid surveillance, has been quite robust. Karnataka is in full swing in conducting genomic testing. So far, it has recorded 101 positive cases of JN.1 and 279 positive cases of Covid variant JN 1.1, the highest in the country.

Although the severity of JN.1 cannot be compared with previous variants of Covid, its infectiousness or ability to spread the infection is much higher. In a matter of weeks, JN.1 has transformed into the number one coronavirus variant in the country.