New Covid-19 variant: Should South Africans be concerned?

ANEW Covid-19 variant, NB.1.8.1, has become the dominant strain in China and is beginning to surface internationally, prompting public health experts and global agencies to issue fresh warnings and vaccine guidance.

- YASMINE JACOBS [e-mail]

The NB.1.8.1 is a descendant of the Omicron lineage and was first identified in April in travellers from China and several other countries, including France, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, according to data from GISAID.

It is now fueling a surge in hospitalisations and emergency visits in China.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the variant was detected through random airport testing of travellers arriving in the United States since late March, with cases now reported in California, Hawaii, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially designated NB.1.8.1 as a “variant under monitoring”