Nepal on Monday confirmed the spread of the JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus in the country.

Of the 16 swab samples on which whole-genome sequencing was carried out at the National Public Health Laboratory, the JN.1 sub-variant was detected in seven samples, which is around 44 percent of the total.

Whole-genome sequencing is a comprehensive method of analysing the entire DNA sequence of an organism’s genes. Researchers believe that whole-genome sequencing of coronavirus could be instrumental in tracking the severity and properties of the virus.

The World Health Organisation classifies JN.1 as a separate ‘variant of interest’ given its rapid spread around the globe. The UN health body, however, said that based on available data, “the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low”.

Several countries, including China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, have reported upticks in new coronavirus cases. The JN.1 strain, first detected in September in the United States, is a descendant of BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus.

India has of late recorded a surge in new cases of coronavirus infections attributed to outbreaks of the sub-variant JN.1 in several states.

Health experts link the uninterrupted cross-border movement for the rise in cases in Nepal.

Thousands of people from both countries enter each other’s territories every day on top of the large number of those who use unregulated points along the porous border.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Population has asked the general public to avoid crowds and follow public health measures. Officials at the ministry said that positive cases of Covid infection have started rising again.

And what concerns officials is that most people testing positive for the virus are those returning from India.

Health Ministry officials claimed that the agencies under the ministry were alerted and surveillance measures stepped up following the confirmation of the JN.1 outbreak in India.

Doctors in Nepal had warned that it is just a matter of time before the new sub-variant spreads across the country. Officials say infected people have been moving around freely.

Even after confirming a coronavirus infection, people are being allowed to go home without any agency monitoring their movements.

“With the uptick in cases in our immediate neighbourhood, it was only a matter of time before the new sub-variant spread in our country as neither the authorities nor the general public have taken effective safety measures,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief of Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital.

“What is concerning is a lot of elderly people are being hospitalised in recent days after contracting serious respiratory illnesses.”

Experts say almost all variants of the coronavirus outbreak in India have found their way into Nepal and even if the JN.1 sub-variant is not as deadly as the Delta variant, the virus still poses a serious threat to the elderly and people with compromised immunity.

Over 12,000 people died and hundreds of thousands were infected in the first, second and third waves of the Covid pandemic.

Public health measures have been lifted following the decline in the infection rate of the Omicron variant in 2021.