The NB.1.8.1 variant is currently the dominant strain in China, data has shown.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 28 that a new COVID-19 strain that is dominant in China appears to be driving up cases in parts of the world and is currently spreading in Southeast Asia, the western Pacific regions, and the Mediterranean.
The new variant, called NB.1.8.1, has led to a resurgence of the virus in China in recent weeks, officials have said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told The Epoch Times earlier this week that the variant has been detected in the United States and that about 20 sequences have been found so far.
The new variant, increasing globally, had by mid-May reached nearly 11 percent of sequenced samples reported. The WHO last week designated it a “variant under monitoring” and considers the public health risk low at the global level, with current vaccines expected to remain effective.
In its May 28 update, the WHO said some Western Pacific countries—including China—have reported increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared with other variants.
“The recent increases have been observed in four countries and areas to date: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong … and Singapore,” the WHO stated in its update.
The variant called LP.8.1 is currently the dominant version worldwide, according to the WHO. But both LP.8.1. and NB.1.8.1 have not shown signs that they would cause an “increased public health risk” when “compared to other circulating variants,” the U.N. health body stated.
“To permit robust COVID-19 risk assessment and management, WHO reiterates its recommendations to member states to continue to monitor and report SARS-CoV-2 activity and burden, public health and healthcare system impacts of COVID-19, strengthen genomic sequencing capacity and reporting, in particular information on SARS-CoV-2 variants, promptly and transparently to support global public health efforts.” SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia, and New York, according to officials.
A CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times on May 25 that while NB.1.8.1 has been detected in the United States, there are “fewer than 20 sequences in the U.S. baseline surveillance data to date.”
