A new Covid-19 offshoot, known as the Stratus variant, is driving up cases across the United States as infections tick upward heading into late summer. The variant, XFG, is being closely watched by health experts for its rapid spread, though officials say there’s no evidence yet that it causes more severe illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailed that the national test positivity rate reached 9.9 per cent in the past week, up 1.4 per cent from the week before. The sharpest increases have been recorded in the South, where test positivity rates in some states have spiked to 15 per cent.
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“Currently, the most prevalent lineage in the U.S. is XFG, based on CDC's recent surveillance estimates,” a CDC spokesperson told Newsweek.
The strain is being detected not only through clinical testing but also through wastewater monitoring, which has become an important tool for spotting community spread.
What is the Stratus Variant?
{{/usCountry}}The strain is being detected not only through clinical testing but also through wastewater monitoring, which has become an important tool for spotting community spread.
What is the Stratus Variant?
{{/usCountry}}The Stratus variant, scientifically labelled XFG, is a sublineage of Omicron. Researchers believe it likely emerged through the recombination of earlier Omicron variants, which gave it mutations that appear to make it more transmissible.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has placed Stratus on its list of “variants under monitoring.”
US states seeing rising numbers
CDC data highlights several states where test positivity rates and reported cases are climbing quickly. These include:
- Alaska
- Washington
- Idaho
- Utah
- Texas
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Wisconsin
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- North Carolina
- Arkansas
- Missouri
- Alabama
- Connecticut
Other states are showing signals of increasing transmission as well, though not at the same level. These include:
- Oregon
- California
- Colorado
- Oklahoma
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Maryland
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
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Symptoms to watch out for are
- Congestion, cough, fatigue, headache and mild fever
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle, head and body aches
- Cough and sore throat