Kirsty Mckenzie
THE Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, is now spreading around the world, and is likely to be the dominant strain across Spain within a month.
The World Health Organization said the variant had been detected in more than 80 countries and it continues to mutate as it spreads.
The new strain accounts for over 90 per cent of new cases in the United Kingdom, and at least six per cent of total cases in the U.S.
Spain’s Health Ministry on Friday published data that showed the Delta variant accounted for less than 1 percent of national new cases and is currently listed as a ‘variant of interest’.
Is delta a more contagious strain
Studies have shown the variant is even more transmissible than other variants.
Researchers pointed out that one of the defining features of the Delta variant has been enhanced transmissibility with increases estimated at 40-60 per cent above the Alpha variant.
WHO officials said last Wednesday there were reports that the delta variant also causes more severe symptoms, but that more research is needed to confirm those conclusions.
What are the symptoms of the delta variant?
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are a fever, persistent cough and loss of taste or smell.
But experts from the United Kingdom are concerned that the delta variant could be mistaken for the common cold.
The most common symptoms known at the moment are sore throat, headache and mucus. Unlike the other variants, loss of smell or a cough has not been detected as predominant symptoms among those affected by this strain.
Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King’s College London, says in statements to the BBC that younger people may feel as if they have ‘a bad cold’ and the classic symptoms of COVID-19 are now less common.
“Covid is also acting differently now,” Spector noted in a YouTube briefing last week. “It’s more like a bad cold in this younger population and people don’t realize that and that hasn’t come across in any of the government information.”
- READ MORE:
- Coronavirus Delta variant to become dominant in Spain by mid-July, experts predict
- First case of the ‘Delta’-‘Indian’ COVID-19 variant is confirmed in the Costa Blanca area of Spain
- CAUSE FOR CONCERN? First COVID-19 Indian variant detected in Malaga testing centre
