Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh, especially Indore, will have to literally take #boycott Maldives seriously. Specially, after a 33-year-old woman from Indore tested positive for JN1 sub variant of Omicron on Thursday. She had tested positive for the virus on December 12, soon after returning from Maldives.
This is the first case of JN1 to be reported in the entire state. She was kept in home isolation and discharged after recovering. Integrated Diseases Surveillance Programme nodal officer Dr Amit Malakar said that samples of 32 Covid patients were sent to AIIMS Bhopal for whole genome sequencing.
“We have received only one sample report so far. The patient, 33-year-old woman, had mild symptoms like cough and cold after which she and one of her family members tested positive for Covid-19 in RTPCR test in a private laboratory on December 12,” Dr Malakar said. District epidemiologist Dr Anshul Mishra said, “The patient had returned from Maldives.
She was kept in home isolation and discharged after seven days when her reports turned negative. She has already left for Mumbai.” Meanwhile, a 21-year-old youth too tested Covid positive on Thursday taking the tally of active cases to nine in city. He has been kept in home isolation.
No need to panic but keep vigil: MGM Medical College Dean
Dean of MGM Medical College Dr Sanjay Dixit said that there was no need for panic as this particular strain causes mild illness. However, the elderly, obese and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, cancers and others must avoid crowded places and use masks.
A case of BA.2.86 sub variant of Omicron too found
The BA.2.86 sub variant of Omicron was also detected in samples of 52-year man in Indore on Thursday. Whole genome sequencing of the samples was done at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday.
SAIMS Dr Mahak Bhandari said that based on available limited evidence, the public health risk posed by BA.2.86 was currently evaluated as low at the global level.
“BA.2.86 was classified as variant under monitoring (VUM) on 17 August 2023 and based on updated information, BA.2.86 and its sublineages (including JN.1) are now being classified as a variant of interest (VOI). People should follow the guidelines set by the government to control the spread of the highly contagious disease,” he said.
