New Delhi |A total of 1,640 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country so far, with Madhya Pradesh becoming the latest state to record its presence, INSACOG said on Tuesday.

Data compiled by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) showed Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of JN.1 cases at 477 followed by Karnataka at 249.

Andhra Pradesh recorded 219 JN.1 cases while Kerala registered 156 cases of the variant and Gujarat recorded 127 such cases.West Bengal recorded 96 JN.1 cases, Goa 90 and Tamil Nadu 89.

Rajasthan has recorded 38 JN.1 cases, Telangana 32, Chhattisgarh 25, Delhi 21, Uttar Pradesh nine, Haryana five, Odisha three, and Uttarakhand, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland one each, according to the data accessed by PTI.

The highest number of cases were recorded in December at 1,291 while in January 315 JN.1 cases were detected and 34 sub-variant cases were detected in November.

Last month, the Centre has asked the states and Union territories to maintain a constant vigil amid detection of new variants in the country.

The World Health Organisation has classified JN.1 as a separate "variant of interest" given its rapidly-increasing spread, but said it poses a "low" global public health risk.

The JN.1 sub-variant of the coronavirus was previously classified as a variant of interest (VOI) as part of the BA.2.86 sub-lineages, the parent lineage that is classified as a VOI, the world body said.