Aug 28, 2025 · Some variants will emerge and disappear, while others will emerge and continue to spread and may replace previous variants. It is important to track the emergence of variants so that …

As of 25 June 2025, the variants of interest as specified by the World Health Organization are JN.1, and the variants under monitoring are KP.3, KP.3.1.1, JN.1.18, LP.8.1, NB.1.8.1, XEC and XFG.

Dec 2, 2024 · When these changes become significantly different to a previously detected virus, these new virus types are known as “variants.” To identify variants, scientists map the genetic material of …

For SARS-CoV-2, the emergence of various variants has significantly impacted its fitness, influencing factors such as transmissibility, infectivity, and immune evasion. This section explores how specific …

Dec 24, 2025 · Get the latest COVID-19 news from infectious diseases expert Mark Rupp, MD, including COVID-19 case rates, types of variants circulating and vaccine updates.

Oct 12, 2025 · A strain is when a virus has so many variants that it starts acting differently—for example, it’s much more transmissible than the previous version. All strains are variants, but not all variants …

Jun 18, 2025 · Here, you can find out what mutations define a variant, what impact they might have (with links to papers and resources), where variants are found, and see the variants in Nextstrain builds!

Jan 2, 2026 · Discover new COVID variant symptoms in 2026, understand respiratory infection risks, and learn effective protection strategies to stay safe and informed.

Oct 24, 2025 · Concern over variants, sometimes called strains, of the virus that causes COVID-19 is based on how the virus might change. A virus could get better at infecting people, spread faster or …

Nov 29, 2021 · Any change to the viral genetic sequence during this process is known as a mutation, and viruses with new mutations are sometimes called variants. Variants can differ by one or multiple …