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https://theconversation.com/the-emergence-of-jn-1-is-an-evolutionary-step-change-in-the-covid-pandemic-why-is-this-significant-220285>
"Since it was detected in August 2023, the JN.1 variant of COVID has spread
widely. It has become dominant in Australia and around the world, driving the
biggest COVID wave seen in many jurisdictions for at least the past year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest”
in December 2023 and in January strongly stated COVID was a continuing global
health threat causing “far too much” preventable disease with worrying
potential for long-term health consequences.
JN.1 is significant. First as a pathogen – it’s a surprisingly new-look version
of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) and is rapidly displacing other
circulating strains (omicron XBB).
It’s also significant because of what it says about COVID’s evolution.
Normally, SARS-CoV-2 variants look quite similar to what was there before,
accumulating just a few mutations at a time that give the virus a meaningful
advantage over its parent.
However, occasionally, as was the case when omicron (B.1.1.529) arose two years
ago, variants emerge seemingly out of the blue that have markedly different
characteristics to what was there before. This has significant implications for
disease and transmission.
Until now, it wasn’t clear this “step-change” evolution would happen again,
especially given the ongoing success of the steadily evolving omicron variants.
JN.1 is so distinct and causing such a wave of new infections that many are
wondering whether the WHO will recognise JN.1 as the next variant of concern
with its own Greek letter. In any case, with JN.1 we’ve entered a new phase of
the pandemic."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
