'Becoming the dominant strain': New sub variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc as epidemiologist encourages vaccinations amid rising infections
Omicron strain subvariant NB.1.8.1 is spreading fast in Queensland, which has seen a sudden spike in the number of people infected with Covid-19.
A report by Queensland Health said 671 people were diagnosed with the disease in the week ending May 25, which was an 18 per cent increase from the week prior.
There had been 15,693 notified cases of Covid-19 in the state since the beginning of this year according to the report, meaning an average of over 100 new cases per day.
There were 54 people in hospital with the disease in Queensland as of Sunday, and the health authority reported 3,388 hospitalised cases between January 1 and May 25.
The strain is also the most dominant variant in wastewater samples taken in Perth, while it makes up less than 10 per cent of cases in South Australia, and more than 40 per cent in Victoria.
Deakin University distinguished professor and chair in epidemiology Catherine Bennett said NB.1.81. is a sub-variant, related to the JN.1 family of variants and was first reported in January 2025.
"It's quickly becoming the dominant strain in both northern and southern hemispheres and will be the variant responsible for our next wave that's on our doorstep," she told SkyNews.com.au.
"The variant doesn't seem to cause more severe disease but it has a different combination of mutations on the spike protein that make it less recognisable to our immune system and is also better at latching onto receptors in our respiratory linings, making it more infectious.
"So those two things together, better able to escape our immune response and more infectious, means will spread quickly and replace older variants."
Professor Bennett said Covid vaccines will still be effective in protecting against "severe disease" as it still targets the JN.1 family of variants.
She urged more vulnerable people to stay up to date with their vaccines to prevent serious illness.
"People over 65 are encouraged to stay up to date with a booster each year, two if over 75, and now is the best time to have it if due as this will then have time to build protection at the start of this wave and provide some protection through the wave which usually lasts 6-8 weeks. People who are immunocompromised should also check their booster status," she said.
"Because we had a quiet summer wave most other adults won't have had the same natural boosting as in previous years, so (they) might also want to consider having a booster if it's been a while since they had an infection.
"(There's) a few nasty bugs around already with RSV rates in try rise and rhinovirus causing some nasty colds, so also time to be aware of our own symptoms and trying not to spread infections ourselves, whatever virus it is."
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