NYP: A New Strain Of COVID-19 Has Caused A Spike In Hospitalizations In China And The U.S.
- 29.05.2025, 10:21
The new variant has a "growth advantage".
A new highly contagious variant of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1, which has caused a surge in hospitalizations in China, has now been detected in the United States, including New York City. This was reported by NY Post citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 27.
NB.1.8.1 was first detected in the U.S. in late March and early April among passengers on international flights arriving at airports in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York, the article said. It notes that other cases have also been reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
CDC notes that few cases of the strain have now been reported in the U.S. to put it in the official statistics of virus variants. But experts caution that the strain's spread in China indicates it is more contagious than other dominant respiratory variants.
Specialists have been closely monitoring NB.1.8.1 after it became dominant in China this year, triggering a new outbreak across Asia, the reporters wrote. They added that authorities in Hong Kong have reported a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases - to the highest level in at least a year. In the past month alone, they have recorded a significant increase in emergency room visits and hospitalizations related to the variant, the media outlet stressed. In the last four weeks, 81 severe cases have been recorded, including 30 deaths. The vast majority are reportedly aged 65+.
In mainland China, the proportion of COVID-19 patients who go to emergency departments has more than doubled from 7.5 percent to more than 16 percent, according to health authorities. The proportion hospitalized has also doubled to more than 6%, the state-run China Daily reported.
Despite this data, the Hong Kong government has tried to downplay the danger of the strain, saying it does not appear to be more dangerous than previous variants, according to the authors of the article. However, Dr. Amy Edwards, a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, emphasized in an interview with CBS News that hospitalizations have increased in regions where the strain is spreading rapidly - China, Hong Kong and several others.
Airport testing by the CDC revealed the extent of the spread, with those infected with the variant traveling through China, Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Spain, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Like previous variants of COVID-19, NB.1.8.1 can cause coughing, sore throat, fever and fatigue, Media notes. However, University of Nevada professor of microbiology and immunology Subhash Verma noted that the new variant has a "growth advantage," indicating easier spread.
And both Verma and Edwards emphasize that right now, the new strain does not appear to be a more severe strain. But Dr. Edwin Tsui, head of the Hong Kong Health Centre, warns that it should not be taken lightly, as the virus has presumably evolved to evade even more effectively the protection afforded by COVID-19 vaccines.