Delta variant creates new COVID danger in Australia, as early data suggests it is more severe and more transmissible
By medical reporter Sophie Scott and the Specialist Reporting Team's Nick Sas
Health experts are preparing for a "nightmare scenario" in Australia, with early data from both overseas examples and the local outbreak showing the Delta strain is more severe as well as being harder to contain.
Key points:
Experts say early studies indicate the Delta strain is putting more people in hospital in a serious condition
The new data, on top of initial data highlighting its increased transmissibility, is putting intensive care wards on edge
One infectious disease expert described it as a "double whammy"
The warning comes as early data from the NSW outbreak shows more people are in hospital intensive care wards than during the peak of Victoria's second-wave outbreak, which had substantially more active cases.
The raw data from NSW is backed up by early studies out of Canada, Scotland and Singapore which show the Delta strain appears to be associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation and death.
And last week leaked internal documents from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared "the war has changed", citing studies showing Delta caused more severe illness than earlier variants.
....so much for subsequent mutated strains being less dangerous...Delta may be the least of the world's worries
