‘Covid outbreak may reduce in 2 months like Omicron wave’ – Gudstory

Raman Gangakhedkar, a senior epidemiologist and member of the government’s COVID-19 task force, said there is no clear information to suggest that ZN.1 is causing hospitalizations and deaths.

“JN.1 was first reported in the US in September and did not appear to have any severity. Now, it is in India and the trend looks the same. In India, even though cases are rising now, it is in absolute numbers. People are experiencing flu symptoms and not going for testing because it is mild. JN.1 is expected to peak in the coming days, and looks similar to Omicron which stabilized within two months. So, we need to monitor it. “The new virus differs from BA.2.86 by only one mutation in its spike protein, and it has higher transmission potential,” Gangakhedkar said. Limited testing is posing challenges for the Indian Sars-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). The extent of spread of new sub-variants. A scientist at the consortium said intensive Covid-19 testing and genome sequencing is needed across the country to understand the magnitude of the new virus and the expected number of hospitalizations.

“The government has already held a meeting with the health ministers of all the states. At the moment, we are cautious because this strain is already spreading in other countries. We’re just watching to see if there is an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. With the current data, there is nothing to worry about; However, we do not have a large number of samples to perform genome sequencing. “Those who have symptoms should be immediately isolated and go for testing,” a senior scientist at INSACOG said on condition of anonymity.

India reported 640 new coronavirus infections on Friday, with active cases nearing 3,000. One death has been reported from Kerala in the last 24 hours.

Kerala recorded 265 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours.

“This is because the state conducts more number of sample tests compared to other states. State Health Minister Veena George said, the situation is absolutely under control.

State Health Department Principal Secretary Mohammad Hanish said that most of the patients are in home isolation and the number of those admitted to hospitals is less than 200. “Also, most of the deaths that have been recorded are due to co-morbidities and have little to do with COVID-19,” he said. But of course, they were all positive. JN.1 has been found in only one case, and the other variant is dominated by BA.2.86,” he said. Kerala’s leading private hospital Amrita said it has seen a rise in respiratory cases in its outpatient department in the last two weeks.

“We are prioritizing high-risk individuals – those with comorbidities, taking immunosuppressants, uncontrolled diabetes, chronic kidney and liver diseases – because their disease is likely to worsen. Fortunately, the variant causing these cases does not generally lead to severe forms of the disease, resulting in the need for minimal ICU care and ventilation,” said Kiran G Kulirankal, assistant professor, infectious diseases division, Amrita Hospital. Kochi said.

At least 19 cases of the new strain have been reported in Goa.

“On Thursday, we tested 24 cases and there was not a single positive case. The intensity of stress is low; Even WHO had said that it is less contagious. We have not seen any major threat from the virus yet. State Health Secretary Arun Kumar said, all the cases are in home isolation, only an 80-year-old woman had to be hospitalised, but she has been discharged.

Questions sent to the Health Ministry spokesperson remained unanswered.

priyanka.sharma@livemint.com

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Published: 22 Dec 2023, 11:50 PM IST