New COVID variant ‘Stratus’ spreads in US, UK: What are the symptoms and precautions?

The XFG Stratus Covid-19 strain is spreading rapidly across the United States and the United Kingdom, causing mild symptoms but alarming concerns.

The XFG ‘Stratus’ COVID-19 variant has been transmitting rapidly in the United States, driving a fresh surge of infections across the country. The variant’s ability to bypass the immune system has allowed it to quickly surpass NB.1.8.1 (Nimbus) as the nation’s dominant strain. Nineteen states in the US are seeing high levels of this variant, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rise of this variant coincides with the onset of respiratory viruses, a time when cases of flu and common cold typically increase.

Symptoms and Risks

XFG, a hybrid of two Omicron sub-strains, is considered slightly more transmissible, partly due to immune evasion properties. Some of the common symptoms are

• Sore throat
• cough congestion or runny nose
• fever or chills
• shortness of breath
• fatigue
• headache
• muscle aches
• nausea
• vomiting or diarrhoea.

Some reports highlighted loss of taste or smell is one of the symptoms, but reportedly less common as compared to earlier variants.

According to BBC, Covid 19 cases have also been found in the United Kingdom, fuelled by XFG and NB.1.8.1, known as Nimbus. “Our genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 lineages last month found that 35% were classified as XFG.3, 28% were classified as XFG, 11% were classified as NB.1.8.1, 7% were classified as XFG.5 and 7% were classified as XFG.3.4.1,” UK government data revealed.

Precautions

Health officials continue to stress basic safety guidelines that can avoid the catch of illness:

• Stay home to prevent contact of variant
• Practice good hygiene
• Improve indoor air ventilation
• Track your vaccination records