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In the wake of the approaching festive season, the World Health Organisation has urged countries to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing amid the rising number of Covid cases. The WHO said that the virus is evolving and changing. This comes amid a surge in respiratory diseases and the new JN.1 Covid sub-variant. The global body also shared a video of its COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, who explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken.
The WHO shared a video on X and said, “Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant. WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO’s public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season”.
Dr @mvankerkhove talks about the current surge in respiratory diseases #COVID19 and JN.1 subvariant.
WHO continues to assess the situation. Follow WHO’s public health advice to keep your families and friends safe during this holiday season. pic.twitter.com/HvAZVMMN49
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 17, 2023
The WHO expert urged the member states to continue with strong surveillance and sequence sharing so that proper steps can be taken to “potentially modify” the advice for the world. She also explained the reason for the recent surges and what precautions can be taken.
In the video message, Kerkhove said that the recent surge in respiratory infections is due to several reasons which include rise in gatherings during the holiday season and other infections.
“It’s not just COVID-19 that’s circulating; we have influenza, other viruses, and bacteria. In other parts of the world, we are entering the winter months, and people are starting to gather for the holiday season. And as people gather, they spend more time indoors, especially if there is poor ventilation. These pathogens that spread efficiently between people and through the air will take advantage,” she said.
She further said that the rise in COVID cases is because the virus is evolving, adding that 68 per cent of the current cases are cases of XBB sublineages and other groupings like JN.1.
“Covid-19 is one of the diseases that is currently on the rise, and this is again due to a number of factors; the virus SARS-Cov-2 is evolving, changing, and circulating in all countries,” Kerkhove said.
She further stated, “In some countries, we have these XBB sublineages, and they represent around 68 per cent or so of the sequences that are shared globally. The other grouping is BA.2.86, most notably JN.1 which causes the full spectrum, everything from asymptomatic infection. All the way to severe disease and death, similar to what we have seen with other Omicron sublineages.”
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