Deltacron is a new Covid strain discovered in Cyprus that combines Delta and Omicron.
“Currently, there are omicron and delta co-infections,” according to a scientist at the University of Cyprus.
According to Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and director of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, a Covid-19 strain that mixes delta and omicron was discovered in Cyprus.
In an interview with Sigma TV on Friday, Kostrikis stated, “There are now omicron and delta co-infections, and we uncovered this strain that is a combo of these two.” According to him, the finding was given the moniker “deltacron” because of the detection of omicron-like genetic markers inside the delta genomes.
The statistical study showed that the relative incidence of the combined infection is greater among patients hospitalized owing to Covid-19 than among non-hospitalized patients, according to Kostrikis and his colleagues. On January 7, the sequences of the 25 Deltacron instances were transmitted to GISAID, a worldwide database that records viral alterations. “We’ll see whether this strain is more pathological or communicable in the future, or if it will triumph” over delta and omicron, he added. However, in his opinion, the more infectious omicron variation will also supplant this strain.
Scientists informed Bloomberg News that the deltacron variation, a coronavirus variant other than Ihu that combines the omicron and delta variants, is genuine.
According to CNBC, Cyprus identified a COVID-19 variation that mixes the omicron and delta types over the weekend. According to CNBC, the variation includes “omicron-like genetic markers inside the delta genomes.”
Professor of biological sciences Leondios Kostrikis of the University of Cyprus said 25 instances of the virus had been discovered. According to CNBC, the data’s transmissibility and severity are yet unknown. “We’ll see whether this strain is more pathological or communicable in the future, or if it will triumph,” Kostrikis added.
Experts are divided on whether or not the deltacron version is genuine. Deltacron might be a “scariant,” according to Scripps Research Translational Institute biologist Eric Topol. “New scariant subtype that isn’t even a true variation but needlessly worries a lot of people,” he tweeted.
However, Kostrikis defended his results, telling Bloomberg that the examples he found “suggest an evolutionary push on an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations, rather than a single recombination event.” It’s uncertain whether or not the deltacron variation is genuine. But it’s another indicator of the unique coronavirus’s potential, which is growing and mutating as more varieties are developed.
