LIMA, Dec. 28– Health authorities in Peru have identified the first 12 cases of the COVID-19 JN.1 variant, which is the “descendant of the highly mutated BA.2.86 lineage,” the Peruvian Ministry of Health confirmed Wednesday. The National Institute of Health of the ministry identified the cases through genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples taken in November in different regions of the country. The cases include people aged between 23 and 58, who so far are stable and under outpatient management, the ministry said in a statement. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a separate variant of interest from the parent lineage BA.2.86 According to the evaluation carried out by the WHO, this variant is considered to be of “low risk” for public health. Currently there is no evidence that it produces a different or more severe clinical picture compared to other Omicron lineages.
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