An urgent warning has been issued over a new Covid-19 variant that experts suggest could be more infectious than previous strains, with case numbers on the rise in Britain.
The NB.1.8.1 variant has been found in 22 countries, including the UK, since it emerged in January, with cases recorded in Wales over the last few months, Wales Online reports.
It has also been tracked in popular British tourist hotspots, including Thailand, the Maldives and Egypt, with soaring cases also seen in Ireland, the US, Australia and parts of Europe.
Indeed, a whopping 257,280 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Thailand this year, including 52 deaths, prompting an official warning from health authorities about the new variant.
And some experts ‘fear the strain is more infectious’ than its predecessors, leading to rapidly rising numbers.
Subhash Verma, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, told CBS News: ‘Data indicates that NB.1.8.1 does not lead to more severe illness compared to previous variants, although it appears to have a growth advantage, suggesting it may spread more easily.
‘In other words, it is more transmissible.’
The World Health Organisation (WHO) claimed that, using the evidence available, NB.1.8.1’s threat to the public health was ‘low at the global level’.