Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Health has called on all citizens to be vigilant and take precautions to prevent the spread of influenza and COVID-19 in all its forms by implementing various preventive measures.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Health on May 24, recently, some countries around the world have seen an increase in the transmission of the new variant of COVID-19, NB.1.8.1, especially in the Western Pacific region, including the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which are currently experiencing the circulation and spread of the virus. The new variant, NB.1.8.1, is a descendant of the Omicron strain of the JN.1 lineage.
On May 23, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the virus as a “variant of interest” after observing a rapid increase in global sequencing data, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. There is currently no scientific evidence that the NB.1.8.1 virus causes severe illness, increased hospitalizations, or higher mortality rates than previously circulating Omicron strains.
The ministry added that Cambodia had previously detected the NB.1.8.1 virus between May and December 2025. Since the beginning of 2026, the infectious disease surveillance system of the Department of Communicable Disease Control of the Ministry of Health has detected one positive case on May 18 among patients who came to receive health services at hospitals, as published in the official reporting system of the Ministry of Health.
