Humoral immune escape by current SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, December 2023
Lara M. Jeworowski, Barbara Mühlemann, Felix Walper, Marie Luisa Schmidt, Jenny Jansen, Andi Krumbholz, Etienne Simon‐Lorière, Terry C. Jones, Victor M. Corman, Christian Drosten
Abstract
Variant BA.2.86 and its descendant, JN.1, of SARS-CoV-2 are rising in incidence across Europe and globally. We isolated recent JN.1, BA.2.86, EG.5, XBB.1.5 and earlier variants. We tested live virus neutralisation of sera taken in September 2023 from vaccinated and exposed healthy persons (n = 39). We found clear neutralisation escape against recent variants but no specific pronounced escape for BA.2.86 or JN.1. Neutralisation escape corresponds to recent variant predominance but may not be causative of the recent upsurge in JN.1 incidence.
Topics & Concepts
NeutralizationImmune escapeIncidence (geometry)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Virology2019-20 coronavirus outbreakImmune systemBiologyImmunologyVirusMedicineInternal medicineDiseaseOutbreakMathematicsGeometryInfectious disease (medical specialty)SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesSARS-CoV-2 detection and testing