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THE Malaysian Ministry of Health (KKM) has identified the presence of the new Covid-19 variant XFG among the 43,087 cases reported during Epidemiological Week 35 (ME35/2025), which ended on 6 September.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, in a post on the X platform, stated, “It involves 8.2 per cent of the total cases reported.”
Genomic surveillance by the ministry further revealed that the NB.1.8.1 variant remains the most prevalent, accounting for 39.4 per cent of infections. The JN.1 variant contributed 18.1 per cent, while the XEC variant made up 13.3 per cent. The remaining 21 per cent were linked to other variants.
However, Dzulkefly did not specify the number of patients infected with the XFG variant, nor did he indicate when the variant was first detected in Malaysia.
He added, “Cumulatively, up to ME35/2025, a total of 43,087 cases have been reported, compared to 85,297 cases during the same period in 2024 — a decrease of 49.5 per cent.”
He also reported that 594 new weekly cases were recorded in ME35, a 12.8 per cent decrease from the 681 cases reported the previous week (ME34).
One Covid-19-related death was reported during ME35, involving a 91-year-old bedridden senior citizen. Dzulkefly confirmed that three Covid-19 deaths have been recorded so far this year — during ME24, ME30, and ME35.
The XFG variant, first detected in Southeast Asia in January, was classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June as a “variant under monitoring” due to its rapid global spread. WHO has categorised XFG as a recombinant strain derived from two existing Omicron subvariants — LF.7 and LP.8.1.2.
The Indonesian Ministry of Health previously confirmed that XFG had become the dominant strain in the country, following a surge in localised infections since early July. - September 19, 2025
