Corona variant “Stratus” is spreading: proportion also increasing in Germany
It's usually harmless – the symptom with which a current coronavirus variant makes itself known. People usually don't even think of Covid-19 first. But even in Germany, the proportion of "Stratus" strains is increasing significantly.
"Stratus" has been circulating in Germany since mid-April. At least, this is when the coronavirus variant was first detected. Experts at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) write this in their current monthly report. They add: "Its proportion increased significantly, particularly in the last two reporting weeks."
Although the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is no longer reporting on the coronavirus situation as frequently as during the pandemic, experts are still monitoring the variants.
The shares from the current report (for the period June 9 to July 6, 2025):
- “Nimbus”, NB.1.8.1: The recombinant line, including its sublines, was detected most frequently among all Sars-CoV-2 lineages classified as variant of interest (VOI, see explanation below) or variant under surveillance (VUM), with a share of 34 percent.
- The Omicron subline LP.8.1 (including its sublines) follows with a share of 19 percent .
- “Stratus”, XFG: The recombinant line (including its sublines) is in third place with a share of 18 percent .
According to the report, the lines just mentioned are currently among the most frequently detected circulating corona lines worldwide.
It can be assumed that the ranking in Germany will change in the next few weeks.
During the pandemic years, looking across the English Channel often provided a glimpse into the expected situation in Germany. Thanks in part to better monitoring, many developments, such as those related to coronavirus variants, became apparent in Great Britain several weeks earlier than in Germany.
The news site " Daily Mail " even calls "Stratus" a "super-infectious Frankenstein" variant. It's a recombinant, hybrid variant, and highly contagious. Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, told the online portal that both Stratus strains—the original XFG strain and its spin-off XFG.3—are "spreading rapidly." "The increased competitiveness of XFG and XFG.3 is likely due to new spike mutations that allow these variants to better evade the immune response," the professor said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified this sublineage as a “variant under monitoring” (VUM).
This is the XFG sublineage. Nicknamed "Stratus," it is a recombinant of the LF.7 and LP.8.1.2 lineages and was first detected at the end of January 2025. "XFG is growing rapidly compared to other variants circulating worldwide," the WHO wrote in a statement about the variant, which has mutations in the spike protein compared to the previously dominant omicron variant JN.1.
Their share of the global infection rate had more than tripled within four weeks (beginning of May: 7.4 percent, beginning of June: 22.7 percent).
The new variant appears to be characterized by a specific symptom: hoarseness. Doctors from several Indian hospitals report this, according to the Times of India . Infected patients also complain of a dry or tickly cough accompanied by a sore throat.
In addition, those affected report the following typical corona symptoms :
- Sniffles
- Fever
- Headaches and body aches
- general weakness and
- shortness of breath over time.
Less common, but possible, are symptoms such as
- nausea
- abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Conjunctivitis
- rash
- Lymph node swelling and
- Dizziness.
"Despite increasing detection of NB.1.8.1 and XFG, no increased risk to public health is currently seen in Germany," write the RKI experts in their current report. The WHO and the European Commission (ECDC) also currently assess the additional risk posed by these strains as low compared to other recently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants derived from Omikron.
The WHO also states that there are no reports indicating greater disease severity than with other circulating variants. Furthermore, currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are likely to protect against symptomatic and severe disease with this variant as well.
“Variant under observation” is the lowest of three risk categories.
- Variant under monitoring (VUM): These variants of SARS-CoV-2 are being closely monitored. Due to genetic changes, they could spread more rapidly from person to person than other variants.
- Variant of Interest (VOI): These virus variants pose a risk to global public health.
- Variant of concern (VOC): These variants are particularly contagious and cause severe disease. Vaccines may be less effective in these cases.
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