{"id":5189,"date":"2023-11-08T06:04:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T12:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/?p=5189"},"modified":"2023-11-08T06:04:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T12:04:44","slug":"what-is-jn-1-the-latest-covid-variant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/2023\/11\/08\/what-is-jn-1-the-latest-covid-variant\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is JN.1, the Latest COVID Variant?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prevention<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infectious disease experts on what it is, signs, symptoms, and if you should be worried. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19<\/a>, is mutating yet again. The latest variant getting buzz is JN.1, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) flagged in a report<\/a> issued late last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the report, CDC officials say that they\u2019re \u201clearning\u201d about JN.1, noting that it\u2019s not overly common in the U.S. right now. Still, infectious disease experts say there\u2019s a reason why this variant was flagged\u2014and why researchers are keeping an eye on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what is JN.1 and why is it getting attention right now? Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the latest variant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is JN.1?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JN.1 is a COVID-19 variant that descended from BA.2.86<\/a>, explains infectious disease expert Amesh Adalja, M.D.,<\/a> a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. JN.1 is \u201canother Omicron variant<\/a>,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBA.2.86 has more than 20 mutations on the spike protein and there was a concern when it was first detected a while back that, wow, this might be a real problem,\u201d says Thomas Russo, M.D.,<\/a> professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JN.1 has an additional mutation on its spike protein from BA.2.86, which is what SARS-CoV-2 uses to latch onto your cells and make you sick, Dr. Russo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JN.1 symptoms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of now, there\u2019s no data to suggest that JN.1 causes different symptoms than previous COVID-19 variations, says\u00a0William Schaffner, M.D<\/a>., a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. \u201cIt\u2019s an Omicron variant and looks to be similar,\u201d he says. In case you need a refresher, the\u00a0CDC<\/a>\u00a0says those symptoms may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n