KARACHI: The Sindh health department has confirmed two cases of Covid-19 in passengers who had arrived at Karachi’s Jinnah Inter­national Airport.

While the cases have been confirmed, the variant is yet to be determined. However, officials suspect the cases to be of the highly transmissible JN.1 variant, which is currently a cause of concern across the world.

The cases were confirmed on Friday, hours after the caretaker federal health minister, Dr Nadeem Jan, told the Senate that no case of the JN.1 variant has yet been recorded.

According to sources, the two male passengers, between the ages of 50 and 60, arrived from Bangkok and Jeddah on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“Both passengers were having flu-like symptoms and were found positive for Covid-19 with the help of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT),” shared a health department official, adding that their samples have been sent for analysis that would help determine the exact variant causing the illness.

The lab samples have been sent to a Dow University of Health Sciences laboratory, and the results would be available in at least five days.

The official added that the new variant is “highly contagious” and the patients should have been quarantined in a designated facility in Karachi as they posed the risk of infecting others.

However, the passengers were allowed to leave for their hometowns in Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab and Sanghar in Sindh after being advised to quarantine themselves at their residences, according to the official.

He added that only two per cent of all passengers on a flight were being screened for the virus with the help of RAT.

While replying to these concerns, a Sindh health department spokesperson said there were no directives from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to set up quarantine facilities.

“The NCOC advisory calls for surveillance measures that are being implemented, but there are no instructions for setting up separate facilities to quarantine patients,” the spokesperson said, adding that the random testing of 2pc passengers was also being done under the NCOC advisory.

The NCOC has advised the screening of inbound travellers at five international airports and border entry points such as Chaman, Torkham, Taftan and Wagah.

According to experts, the JN.1 variant, also called a sub-variant of the Omicron lineage, is more transmissible than other circulating variants, and the proportion of cases caused by this particular virus has been rising.

Currently, it accounts for 60pc of all cases being reported in the US, where the frequency of hospitalisation has also risen over the last three weeks.

“The variant has been spreading in Europe and several other countries, including India,” said Dr Rafiq Khanani, who is the president of the Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan.

According to him, apart from flu-like symptoms, the illness has also been associated with anxiety and sleep disorders.

“Though it’s less intense than Covid-19, the elderly and people with compromised immunity are vulnerable to serious illness and complications. Hence, we must enforce preventive measures, including wearing face masks, social distancing in public places, and ensuring hand hygiene.”

He also recommended a booster vaccine dose as these vaccines provide immunity for six to 12 months.About the RAT, Dr Khanani said a positive test showed that the patient had a high viral load and could infect others.“There must be several other infected passengers who remained undetected as our surveillance level is currently too low.”

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2024