In France and several other European countries, a new variant of SARS-CO-2 coronavirus has been detected, which has been spreading in Asia for several weeks. In France, at least four cases were confirmed by NB NB 1.8.1, the news website France info said on Saturday, referring to the virologist Bruna Lina from the University Hospital in Lyon.
Variant NB 1.8.1, which is one of the many subtypes of the variant of Omikron known for high contagion, was recorded in France for the first time in March 2025. ”It has also appeared in several other countries. In France we have found four cases – in hospitals among the population, ” Bruno Lina introduced for BFMTV TV.
This option has also been confirmed in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden in recent weeks, It was introduced by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). It is not yet clear whether the new variant will cause an increase in COVID cases, as the general level of spreading this infectious disease in the EU is low during 2025. Lino believes that this coronavirus variant will become dominant in the near future.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday classified the NB variant 1.8.1 as a “variant under the supervision”, which means that it is pursuing it, but does not yet pose an increased risk. WHO adds that, according to current data, variants do not cause more serious diseases than other circulating variants. “Approved vaccines (disease) Covid-19 should continue to be effective against this variant in terms of symptomatic and severe forms of the disease,” lists WHO.
In France, a vaccination campaign against Covid is taking place from 14 April to 15 June 2025, with a possible extension until 15 July if the epidemic situation is required. As in 2020, this new variant originally comes from Asia, where it has been spreading intensively in recent weeks.
E.g. In Singapore, the number of infected in the last seven weeks has been constantly increasing, with 14,200 new cases, which is a record for the past week. Authorities in Taiwan also report between 4th and 10th May to a 66 % increase in the number of Covid patients, which is also accompanied by higher deadness.
