The highly contagious Delta COVID-19 variant is one of the fastest spreading variants, but could also prove to be one of more elusive to diagnose, doctors say.

That’s because the Delta symptoms do not follow the most common COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr. David Priest, an infectious disease specialist with Novant Health, said while the loss of taste and smell was the most telltale sign of the coronavirus throughout the pandemic, many getting sick with Delta present with more vague symptoms, like a runny nose or sore throat.

Diagnosis is more difficult now with symptoms overlapping with another respiratory virus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which is spiking, and it could get even more complicated in the fall when cold and flu also join the mix more prevalently.