Why Delta COVID variant is spreading rapidly

Individuals infected with Delta also had viral loads up to 1,260 times higher than those in people infected with the original strain.

Beijing: People infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 produce far more virus than those infected with the original version of coronavirus making it very easy to spread, according to a study. Researchers at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China found that viral load -- a measure of the density of viral particles in the body -- is roughly 1,000 times higher in people infected with the Delta variant than those infected with the original coronavirus strain, Nature reported. According to current estimates, the Delta variant could be more than twice as transmissible as the original strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. The variant, which was first identified in India in late 2020, has now become the predominant strain and has spread to at least 111 countries.