Srinagar, May 28: A new, highly infectious Covid-19 strain that has led to sudden increase in hospitalizations in China has now been detected in the US, reports said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDS), the cases have been reportedly found in New York City.
The new NB.1.81 variant was first detected among international travelers arriving at airports in California, Washington State, Virginia and New York city , with more cases reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
This was reported around late March and early April. The CDC has said there are too few cases in the US to be properly tracked in the agency’s variant estimates.
Although the number of confirmed cases in the US remains low, experts are warning that the virus in China shows that it spreads more quickly than other dominant strains of the respiratory infection.
As per New York Post, in Hong Kong, health officials reported a significant surge in COVID-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits over the past month, especially among the older aged people.
According to reports, Hong Kong recorded 81 severe cases and over 30 deaths in just four weeks in cases linked to this variant. In mainland China, as per records the percentage of emergency room patients testing positive for COVID has more than doubled in recent weeks, along with the number of hospitalizations.
The CDC’s airport surveillance has revealed that travelers infected with the new variant had recently been to multiple countries—including China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, France, Spain, Vietnam, and Taiwan—suggesting that the strain may already be spreading globally.
While the symptoms of this variant remain similar to previous one—such as cough, sore throat, fever, and fatigue—experts like Dr. Subhash Verma from the University of Nevada note that NB.1.8.1 seems to have a “growth advantage,” potentially making it more transmissible than previous strains.
