Health officials have issued a public alert regarding the emergence of a highly transmissible Covid strain known as ‘Nimbus’, which has led to a sharp increase in cases across Ireland, reports The Mirror.
The Nimbus variant, designated NB.1.8.1, has been detected in 22 countries so far and accounted for about 10.7 per cent of global Covid cases by late April—rising from just 2.5 per cent the previous month.
First discovered in late January, this variant is a sublineage of the Omicron strain and has seen widespread transmission through spring across regions including Europe, the Americas, and the Western Pacific, reports The Mirror.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the new variant as a “variant under monitoring,” indicating it may have the potential to alter the virus’s usual behaviour.
Early research indicates that NB.1.8.1 might have a higher transmission rate and some ability to evade specific immune responses, according to the WHO, reports The Mirror.
With cases of the new ‘Nimbus’ strain climbing rapidly, here’s a detailed overview of what the public needs to know about this Covid variant.
NB.1.8.1 has been officially listed as a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization (WHO), a status given when a variant could potentially affect how the virus behaves, reports The Mirror.
Like earlier Omicron variants, NB.1.8.1 features mutations in the spike protein that are linked to easier spread. However, current evidence does not suggest it leads to more severe disease or a significant decrease in protection from vaccines or previous infections.
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The NB.1.8.1 strain has contributed to a notable spike in Covid cases in multiple nations, reports The Mirror.
Health experts have pointed to changes in the variant’s spike protein that may improve how easily it spreads and slightly reduce the effectiveness of antibodies created from prior infections—both factors that may explain its growing prevalence.
Ireland has seen a sharp increase in NB.1.8.1 cases recently. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) reported that in the last five weeks, the share of sequenced Covid cases linked to this strain has surged from 3.7 per cent to 33.3 per cent, reports The Mirror.
Lara Herrero, a virologist from Griffith University in Australia, believes NB.1.8.1 may be more contagious than other variants, which could explain the growing number of infections in Ireland and globally.
Symptoms associated with this variant appear to be similar to those from previous strains, though a pronounced sore throat may be a notable symptom of the new version, reports The Mirror.
Dr Naveed Asif, a GP with The London General Practice, highlighted a distinct symptom of NB.1.8.1: a sharp sore throat described as a “razor blade sensation”.
Other reported signs include familiar Covid symptoms like fever, muscle pain, nasal congestion, as well as redness at the back of the throat and enlarged neck glands, reports The Mirror.
Though earlier strains were primarily linked to respiratory or flu-like symptoms, this new variant has also been tied to digestive complaints in some patients—such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, stomach pain, and even acid reflux.
While most symptoms remain mild to moderate, those at greater risk of serious illness include people with underlying health conditions, individuals who are unvaccinated, those with weakened immune systems, and the elderly, reports The Mirror.
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