Srinagar, Dec 18: In response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in several States/UTs and the detection of the new JN.1 variant, Union Health Secretary, Sudhansh Pant, has issued a letter to all States/UTs, stressing the imperative for sustained vigilance and collaborative action to combat the challenges posed by the pandemic.
In a letter to states and Union Territories, Union Health Secretary, Sudhansh Pant underlined that due to consistent and collaborative actions between the Centre and state governments, they have been able to sustain the (COVID-19) trajectory at sustainable low rates.
Nevertheless, with the persistent circulation of the COVID-19 virus and its evolving epidemiological behavior aligning with Indian weather conditions and the presence of other common pathogens, it remains crucial to sustain efforts in effectively addressing the ongoing challenges in public health.
“Recently a few States/UTs like Kerala have reported a slight upsurge in COVID cases, however no new variant of the virus had been picked up, there are a number of actions that need State Government’s focus,” it said.
Considering the upcoming festive season, the ministry said, states should put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimise the risk of transmission of the disease by adherence to maintenance of respiratory hygiene.
“Ensure effective compliance of the detailed operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 as has been shared by the Union Ministry and Family Welfare,” the advisory said.
The ministry has asked to ensure monitoring and reporting of District-wise Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities regularly including in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal, for detecting the early rising trend of cases.
It has also directed to ensure adequate testing in all the Districts as per COVID-19 testing guidelines and maintaining the recommended share of RT-PCR and Antigen tests.
“Ensure a higher number of RT-PCR tests and send the positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country,” the advisory said.
Meanwhile, in a letter, States are advised to ensure active participation of both public and private health facilities in a drill conducted by the Union Health Ministry to assess their preparedness and response capacities.
Recently, a few states like Kerala have reported a slight increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, Pant noted.
India’s first case of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 was detected in Kerala on December 8. Earlier, a traveller from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli district tested positive for the JN.1 variant in Singapore.
Stating that the first case of JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) has been detected in India, Pant attached details about the variant which stated that JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) emerged in late 2023 and is a descendant of the BA.2.86 lineage (Pirola) of SARS COV2.
The 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.
More genetic sequencing data is required to confirm its presence in other countries.
