New Delhi: The corona epidemic, which has had a very bad effect on the lives and business of millions of people around the world, has once again knocked in some countries of the world. Some cases of corona epidemic have been reported in the countries of South-East Asia. New cases of corona are also being seen in India. Two people infected with corona have died in Mumbai, although they also had some other diseases.
So far, some cases of corona have been reported from Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, although the symptoms of corona in all these cases are quite mild, but there is a need to be alert and careful about this virus which wreaked havoc last time.
Cases reported so far are mild: Experts
Expert doctors say that the cases reported so far are mild. The sub-variant JN.1 of this virus is already in India and this variant is being considered responsible for the increasing cases of corona in South-East Asia. Doctors said that the JN.1 variant is a part of BA.2.86. BA.2.86 is known as the 'Pirola' strain. The 'Pirola' strain can weaken the human immune system and is more contagious.
People have many questions in their mind. Such as what is the JN.1 variant, do we not have any vaccine to protect against the JN.1 variant?
JN.1 is related to the Omicron variant. There have been about 30 mutations in this virus but this does not mean that it is very dangerous. On the other hand it is finding ways to escape our immune system.
Is the immunity gained from vaccination now decreasing
A question also arises whether the immunity gained from vaccination is now decreasing and do we not have any vaccine to stop it. The answer to this is that we have seen a wave of Omicron. It can still activate memory T cells and memory B cells in our body and these cells can fight the virus and any variants like it.
Symptoms are similar to common flu
The symptoms that are being seen in people right now are similar to common flu - sore throat, cough and fever. Some people may vomit, some people may also have eye irritation (conjunctivitis) like the first wave of corona. At such times, people should rest, drink water, stay in self-isolation and take antiviral medicines.
Who is more at risk
The second question is who is more at risk from this variant? People who are already suffering from a serious disease or whose immunity is weak are definitely at greater risk. People who have high diabetes, chronic kidney disease, HIV or who have undergone organ transplant also need to be careful. The elderly, pregnant women and children may also be at risk of infection.
Need for mRNA vaccine
The next question is whether we need more vaccination? The old vaccines we used to get were made from weakened or dead viruses. Now we need mRNA vaccines, like Gemcovac-19. But this vaccine is not readily available right now. mRNA technology is considered good for quickly updating the vaccine according to the new variant.