Ferocious new Covid strain hits UK - and vaccine could be powerless against it
The new NB.1.8.1 strain of Covid has been detected in the UK
A new variant of the COVID virus has been identified in the UK for the first time. The Public Health Agency reports that at least seven cases of the NB.1.8.1 coronavirus strain have been confirmed in Northern Ireland.
NB.1.8.1 has been officially designated a "variant under monitoring" by the World Health Organisation (WHO) due to its rapid rise and the potential to evade immunity from previous infections or vaccines.
NB.1.8.1 already the dominant strain in Hong Kong and China, and has been detected in Australia, the US and across popular holiday destinations including Egypt, Thailand and the Maldives, reports Daily Star.
According to WHO data, the strain has jumped from 2.5% to 10.7% of submitted global sequences in just four weeks, which has prompted growing international concern. A WHO spokesperson said: "SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, and between January and May 2025, there were shifts in global SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics. At the beginning of the year, the most prevalent variant tracked by WHO at the global level was XEC, followed by KP.3.1.1.
"In February, circulation of XEC began to decline while that of LP.8.1 increased, with the latter becoming the most detected variant in mid-March. Since mid-April, the circulation of LP.8.1 has been slightly declining as NB.1.8.1 is increasingly being detected."
Experts say NB.1.8.1 may be far more contagious than previous variants as it carries multiple mutations that "may infect cells more efficiently than earlier strains".
Dr Lara Herrero, Associate Professor and virology research leader at Griffith University in Australia, explained: "It's possible a person infected with NB.1.8.1 may be more likely to pass the virus on to someone else, compared to earlier variants. The evidence so far suggests NB.1.8.1 may spread more easily and may partially sidestep immunity from prior infections or vaccination. These factors could explain its rise in sequencing data."
This strain presents several symptoms, some of which differ from those commonly associated with other variants.
'Common symptoms include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches, and nasal congestion. Some individuals may also experience gastrointestinal issues,' explained Dr. Lara Herrero.
Gastrointestinal symptoms can involve abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, and heartburn. The Mirror has provided a full list of the known symptoms below.
The full list of symptoms are:
a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
shortness of breath
feeling tired or exhausted
an aching body
a headache
a sore throat
a blocked or runny nose
loss of appetite
diarrhoea
feeling sick or being sick
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