Health experts in Kenya have raised alarm over a possible resurgence of COVID-19, attributing it to a recent surge in respiratory infections in the country. Doctors have now indicated that the country has detected an offshoot of the COVID-19 Omicron variant named the JN 1.
Prof. Shem Otoi, a Covid-19 waves modelling expert, revealed details about the new detection of the variant while sharing on the symptoms and best practices to mitigate its risk.
Otoi while speaking in an interview on March 22, 2024, attributed the emergence of the JN1 virus to a mutation process due to the high viral load and infected people from the previous COVID-19 variants.
He further listed the symptoms of the variant and recommendations for the public regarding behavior changes to mitigate the risk of contracting or spreading this variant.
“The symptoms of the new variant are similar to other variants that have come before. The coughs, fatigue, loss of breath and sometimes the congestion in the chest which those are just common,” he said.
According to the health expert, Kenya has recorded a mild surge of the variant running up from February 2024. He said that infections within people could be classified as a mild surge provided that they are not on oxygen support, even if they have the symptoms.
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Furthermore, the doctor pointed out that there was also a resurgence of influenza H1 N1 which could be confused with the new COVID variant.
Special features of JN 1
The difference between JN 1 and other variants, according to the expert, is that the health sector has recorded new symptoms within patients.
“This one is slightly more contagious. There are reported instances where people have diarrhea and abdominal pain that was not the case in all previous variants. That is, they key difference,” he added.
On the other hand, the doctor noted that the JN 1 variant doesn’t have a specific vaccine to repel it.
However, he added that doctors around the world including the World Health Organization (WHO) health experts are working round the clock to develop a moonshot booster vaccine as a cure for all variants.
He noted that a specific booster has been reported in other countries such as Japan for protecting against the virus to a large extent.
“The XBB1.5 booster has been reported to have cross-protection among many variants,” Otoi pointed out.
Precaution
Apart from being vaccinated, he advised and urged those exhibiting similar symptoms to get tested as soon as possible.
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Doctor Otoi also noted that members of the public should wear masks when in crowded and closed spaces.
“Avoid being in contact with those who you suspect have been infected. So, every other Public Health measure that existed before applies now,” he added.
According to the WHO, the JN 1 strain was first reported in December 2023, moving swiftly to become the most widely circulating variant in the United States.
The data revealed that the strain accounted for an estimated 83% to 88% of all circulating variants toward the end of January 2024 in the US.
At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projected that JN 1 cases would continue to rise.
WHO declared it a “variant of interest”, with the CDC suggesting that it is either more transmissible or better at evading the immune system than other circulating variants.
