WHO warns of new ‘Nimbus’ Coronavirus strain

A new variant of coronavirus, dubbed “Nimbus,” has sparked widespread concern after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of rising rates of infections in certain regions of the world, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In an official statement, the WHO confirmed that the “Nimbus” variant is currently under monitoring, and does not pose an additional health risk compared to the currently circulating variants.

The head of the Allergy and Immunology Department at the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA), Amjad al-Haddad, said that the new coronavirus variant lacks one mutation and is now a variant of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which causes severe pneumonia, respiratory failure, and fever, and has a higher mortality rate than COVID-19.

“The coronavirus variant is similar to the Nimbus variant, which portends a global pandemic. However, there is no accurate data yet. There is only a Nimbus-like mutation, and there is fear of a global mutation similar to the Nimbus pandemic. However, there is no detailed data on whether it has occurred or not, and whether these are just discovered variants,” he explained.

The Professor of Health Economics and Epidemiology, Islam Anan, explained that the “NB.1.8.1” variant, known as “Nimbus,” is a subspecies of Omicron, and was first detected in January 2025, before the World Health Organization officially included it on the list of variants under surveillance on May 23.