Legionnaires’ disease outbreak has shaken New York City, killing five and infecting more than 100 residents across Central Harlem. Health officials have traced the bacteria to contaminated cooling towers as hospitals continue treating dozens of patients. While the city claims cases are slowing, fear and uncertainty are spreading faster than the infection itself.
20 August,2025 07:54 PM IST
Covid Jn.1 variant has been making news due to its rapidly spreading rate. Maharashtra on 25th December reported 50 Covid cases of which nine are JN.1 infections. This has left many people wondering - when it comes to Covid Jn.1 variant - should we be worried? Senior health officials said that there is no move to recommend administration of vaccine booster dose for India. When it comes to tests and treatments, regular Covid-19 test and treatments are expected to work on JN1. But will that be enough? What are the symptoms of Covid Jn.1 variant and what are the chances of recovery? Is this new variant a threat to global health?
28 December,2023 10:00 AM IST
Talking about the new JN.1 COVID strain, former AIIMS Director and Senior Pulmonologist Dr. Randeep Guleria on December 23, asserted that the new variant was more transmissible and was gradually becoming the dominant variant. At the same time, he added, that it wasn’t severe infection and hospitalization. " It is more transmissible, it is spreading more rapidly, it is gradually becoming a dominant variant....it is causing more infections but the data also suggests that it is not causing severe infections and hospitalization. Most of the symptoms are predominantly of the upper airways like fever, cough, cold, sore throat, running nose, and body aches," said Randeep Guleria. Speaking to ANI, chairman of INSAGCOG, Dr NK Arora said, " Within India...from October last week and then till now in last 8 weeks, we have seen 22 cases...there is no evidence that it is spreading very rapidly...Jn.1 is less than 1% of all the isolates so far. Symptoms are very similar, based on symptoms, Jn.1 cannot be differentiated from other variants...there is no increase in hospitalization...there is no need to panic but we need to be vigilant."
24 December,2023 12:42 PM IST
Former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, to the relief of many, informed that people need not panic about the new variant of COVID, JN.1. “We need to be cautious, but we don't need to worry because we don't have any data to suggest that this variant JN.1 is more severe or it's going to cause more pneumonia, more death, so I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with. We're all now very familiar with Omicron. So it's the same family. So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that's why I think WHO has said let's keep a watch on it. It's a variant of interest. It's not a variant of concern," said Dr Soumya Swaminathan while speaking to ANI on December 21.
22 December,2023 11:19 AM IST | MumbaiADVERTISEMENT
