The SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Delta (B.1.617.2), which was first identified in India and wasfirst detected in Mexico in April 21 this year, could be mistaken for a milder illness.

The most commonly reported symptoms of a Delta infection are a headache, sore throat, and runny nose; therefore, it could feel like a “bad cold”.

Other symptoms of the Delta variant.

On the Mexican Government’s microsite on the new coronavirus, consult the When should I see a doctor? section, where the classic symptoms of Covid-19 are listed as fever, coughing, sneezing, and headaches.

And although there are at least five other associated symptoms, there’s no mention of loss of smell, for example.

According to King’s College epidemiologist, Tim Spector, it should come as no surprise that people infected with the new variants of concern are seeing Covid-19 symptoms that are different to those previously registered.

In a recently released webinar, Professor Spector, who runs the ZOE COVID study, and Professor Wendy Barclay, Head of Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, explain the behavior of the Delta variant and its characteristics.

The Delta variant is the fourth and most recent variant of concern that was first identified in India in October 2020 and has spread to other countries around the world.

It’s the second most dominant strain in Mexico, after Gamma, another variant of concern.

Each of these variants are of high concern, as the name suggests. They may have characteristics such as faster transmission, greater severity of disease, or the possibility of evading vaccines.

For now, we know that the Delta variant is capable of evading certain antibodies under laboratory conditions, but it doesn’t escape after two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson’s single dose vaccine, which is also effective against the Delta variant.

Delta is the most contagious variant found to date, and is up to two times as transmissible as the previous strain.

⚠️Confirmed—#DeltaVariant is by far the *most contagious** variant found to date, with a transmissibility that is ~2x faster than older strain. #P1 is 2nd fastest, says @WHO study.?

?#B117 #Alpha—29% faster

?#B1351 #Beta—25%

?#P1 #Gamma—38%

?#B16172 #Delta—97% #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/qZUdwYhvNF

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) June 17, 2021

According to the Mexican Consortium for Genomic Surveillance, P1, Gamma is the second most transmissible and most dominant variant in Mexico.

(Photo: Covigen)

Key symptoms of the Delta variant.

Latest research suggests that a headache and a runny nose are now two of the main indicators of Covid-19 infection.

This is due to them being the most commonly reported symptoms among people testing positive for the Delta variant in the United Kingdom, particularly among young people and the partially vaccinated.

Researchers around the world are monitoring variations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus by analyzing the genetic code of viral specimens and looking for any changes, an approach known as genomic surveillance.

Mexico also has a genomic surveillance program that has so far sequenced 15,600 samples.

Although this number doesn’t compare to the 10,000 samples per week that are sequenced in the UK, the behavior of variants in the country IS being monitored.