NB.1.8.1, LF.7 variants of Covid detected in India: INSACOG data

One case of the newly emerging COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four instances of the LF.7 type have been detected in India, according to INSACOG data.

As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of Asia.

According to data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), one case of NB.1.8.1 was identified in April in Tamil Nadu and four cases of LF.7 were detected in Gujarat in May.

In India, the most common variant remains JN.1, comprising 53 per cent of samples tested, followed by BA.2 (26 per cent) and other Omicron sublineages (20 per cent).

Though WHO's preliminary risk assessment classifies NB.1.8.1 as posing a low public health risk globally, its spike protein mutations such as A435S, V445H, and T478I suggest increased transmissibility and immune evasion compared to other variants.

As of May 19, the country had 257 active Covid cases.

A meeting chaired by the Director General of Health Services and attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, ICMR, and other key health institutions recently reviewed the situation.

However, several regions have reported localized increases. Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Andhra Pradesh reported four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one, and a nine-month-old in Bengaluru tested positive amid a gradual rise over the past 20 days. Kerala reported 273 cases in May alone.