New COVID-19 Variant May Be Driving Up Cases in Some Parts of the World: WHO

The NB.1.8.1 variant is currently the dominant strain in China, data has shown.

This scanning electron microscope image shows the virus that causes COVID-19 (yellow) isolated from a patient in the United States, emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. NIAID-RML/CC BY 2.0

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.”

“It has not met the threshold for inclusion in the COVID Data Tracker dashboard,“ the spokesperson said. ”We monitor all SARS-CoV-2 sequences, and if it increases in proportion, it will appear on the Data Tracker dashboard.”

The NB.1.8.1 strain is a derivative of the XDV COVID-19 lineage, and sub-lineages have been circulating for months around the world, including in China.

Statistics published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention last week indicated that NB.1.8.1 is the dominant strain in China. One new symptom includes a sharp, burning sore throat, doctors told media outlets.

Last week, the WHO also said that “while there are reported increases in cases and hospitalizations” in its member countries, “there are no reports to suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants.”

The United States’ official stance on COVID-19 vaccination has changed, according to an announcement from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy this week. He said that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for pregnant women and healthy children.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the WHO, citing what his administration said was the U.N. health body’s lack of transparency regarding COVID-19. The White House also changed its COVID-19 page last month to say that the virus likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, in 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.