SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fuelled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people - mainly the unvaccinated - sicker than before.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Delta, first identified in India and now dominant worldwide, is likely more severe than earlier versions of the virus, according to an internal report made public on Friday.
The agency cited research in Canada, Singapore and Scotland showing that people infected with the Delta variant were more likely to be hospitalized than patients earlier in the pandemic.
In interviews with Reuters, disease experts said the three papers suggest a greater risk from the variant, but the study populations are limited and the findings have not yet been reviewed by outside experts. Doctors treating patients infected with Delta described a more rapid onset of COVID-19 symptoms, and in many regions an overall increase serious cases.
But the experts said more work is needed to compare outcomes among larger numbers of individuals in epidemiologic studies to sort out whether one variant causes more severe disease than another.
Its difficult to pin down increase in severity and population bias, said Lawrence Young, a virologist at the UKs Warwick Medical School.
In addition, it is likely that the extraordinary rate of Delta transmission is also contributing to a greater number of severe cases arriving at hospitals, the experts said.
Delta is as contagious as chickenpox and far more contagious than the common cold or flu, according to the CDC report.
Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, said the clearest indication that the variant may cause more severe disease comes from the Scotland study, which found that Delta roughly doubled the risk of hospitalization compared to an earlier version.
The majority of hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus in the United States are occurring in people who have not been vaccinated. But there is evidence that the shots are less effective in people with compromised immune systems, including the elderly.
For vaccinated, otherwise healthy individuals, the odds are that if they contract COVID-19 they will only experience asymptomatic or mild disease, said Dr. Gregory Poland, infectious disease expert at the Mayo Clinic.
But they can pass it on to family members and others who may not be so lucky, Poland said. We have to be vaccinated and masked or we will, for the fourth time now, endure another surge and out of that will come worse variants.
FULL-ON FLAMES
The rate of severe illness, especially in regions where vaccination rates are low, is again straining healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
This is like a wildfire, this is not a smouldering campfire. It is full-on flames right now, said Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention and control at Colorados UCHealth.
Research from China suggesting that the Delta variant replicates much faster and generates 1,000 times more virus in the body compared to the original strain highlights the biggest danger of this new wave, Barron said.
It is hard to tell if they are more sick because of the Delta variant or if they would have been more sick anyway, she said.
Other doctors said patients infected with Delta appear to become ill more quickly, and in some cases with more severe symptoms, than those they treated earlier in the pandemic.
We are seeing more patients requiring oxygen sooner, said Dr. Benjamin Barlow, chief medical officer at American Family Care, a 28-state chain of urgent care clinics.
At his clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, Barlow said that around 20 per cent of patients are testing positive for COVID-19, compared with two to three per cent a few weeks ago. Patients are assessed at that time for potential hospital admission and oxygen support.
David Montefiori, director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development at Duke University Medical Center, said the Delta variant is more infectious and leads to faster onset of illness - particularly for the unvaccinated.
Frankly theres a severity that comes from this variant that is a little more severe, Montefiori said on a webcast last week. Its not just easier to transmit, it makes you sicker.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
3 am |
| 7 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: ENE 3 KM/H
GUSTING TO 4 KM/H |
|
|
|
4 am |
| 6 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: NNE 5 KM/H
GUSTING TO 6 KM/H |
|
|
|
5 am |
| 6 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
WIND: N 6 KM/H
GUSTING TO 6 KM/H |
|
|
 |
6 am |
| 6 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: N 5 KM/H
GUSTING TO 8 KM/H |
|
|
 |
7 am |
| 7 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: N 7 KM/H
GUSTING TO 10 KM/H |
|
|
|
8 am |
| 10 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNE 7 KM/H
GUSTING TO 9 KM/H |
|
|
|
9 am |
| 11 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 7 KM/H
GUSTING TO 8 KM/H |
|
|
|
10 am |
| 12 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 8 KM/H
GUSTING TO 11 KM/H |
|
|
|
|
TODAY |
HIGH OF 19 ℃
LOW OF 6 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 11 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
|
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 30 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 33 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 33 ℃
LOW OF 22 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 31 ℃
LOW OF 20 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 21 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
| Canadian Tire Spring Sale - Save Up to 35%! |
| |
| Refresh your home and outdoor spaces this spring with up to 35% off tools, patio furniture, gardening supplies, and more. |
| |
| Spring savings end soon - shop Canadian Tire today! |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
VICTORIA DUFFIELD
WOW
03:11 AM |
|
 |
IGGY AZALEA
SWITCH
03:08 AM |
|
 |
LIL NAS X
HOTBOX
03:04 AM |
|
 |
SOLARDO
TAKE ME THERE
03:02 AM |
|
 |
YVES LAROCK
JEALOUSY
02:59 AM |
|
 |
LECRAE
ILL FIND YOU
02:55 AM |
|
 |
DANGELLO AND FRANCIS
FAST MOVING
02:51 AM |
|
 |
HI LO
WORK THAT BODY
02:48 AM |
|
 |
GRYFFIN
NOTHING LIKE YOU
02:43 AM |
|
 |
GEORGE WONDER
DANCING ON MY OWN
02:40 AM |
|
 
 |
