Covid: a significant new symptom caused by the contagious JN.1 variant now in the majority in France

Il est conseillé de se faire dépister en cas de doute, le variant “Juno” se propage très rapidement. Illustration Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Le nouveau sous-variant d'Omicron, JN.1 ou "Juno" qui sévit en France depuis quelques semaines représente près de 70 % des infections en janvier. 

The French Public Health bulletin dated January 10 states that "the dynamic increase in the BA.2.86 variant continues and this is mainly carried by JN .1. The JN.1 sublineage, also called "Juno" has therefore become the majority variant in mainland France: it represented around 67-70% of the interpretable sequences from the Flash surveys carried out in December. 

Fast propagation

Appeared last August particularly in France, according to the WHO, the JN.1 variant spread quickly throughout the rest of the world.

This strain is believed to be extremely contagious due to the fact that it has an additional mutation in the spike protein. But an infection with this strain would not cause serious cases despite its contagiousness. 

Symptoms

Like the other Covid variants, JN.1 or "Juno" is recognizable by several symptoms. But it is easily determined by a screening test.

Certain symptoms are common with infections with other winter viruses, such as fatigue, fever< /strong>, blocked nose, cough and headache. It also causes difficulty breathing, muscle pain and loss of taste and smell.