Deltacron: New Covid strain that combines Delta And Omicron detected in Cyprus

Deltacron new Covid strain: Scientists in Cyprus have detected a new strain of Covid-19 that combines both Delta and Omicron. The discovery has been named as 'Deltacron' as Omicron-like genetic signatures were identified within Delta Genomes. 

At least 25 such cases have been identified and as per statistical analysis the frequency of combined infection is higher among hospitalised patients due to COVID-19 in comparison to non-hospitalised patients.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers led by Leondios Kostrikis, biological sciences professor and health of laboratory of biotechnology and molecular virology at the University of Cyprus.

Deltacron: Here's what we know so far

25 cases detected

Professor Leondios Kostrikis said in an interview, “There are currently Omicron and Delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two." His team has identified 25 cases of ‘Deltacron’ so far in Cyprus, of which 11 samples were taken from hospitalised patients and 14 were taken from those quarantining at home. 

The sequences of the 25 deltacron cases were on January 7 sent to GISAID, the international database, which tracks changes in the virus.

Is Deltacron more contagious?

Kostrikis said that it is premature to speculate whether more cases linked to the variant will come up or what impact it will have on the pandemic. He said, "We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail" over delta and omicron." 

However, his personal view was that this strain will also be displaced by the highly transmissible omicron variant of Covid-19S.

Deltacron not recognised by WHO

Deltacron is yet to be designated or recognsied by the World Health Organisation or even by experts in other countries. Cyprus health minister was reported to have said that the new variant was not of immediate concern. 

Deltacron a result of lab contamination?

Some scientists are of the opinion that Deltacron is not a real variant of SARS-CoV-2 and that Kostrikis's findings are a result of laboratory contamination. 

According to one such virologist Tom Peacock, the Cypriot 'Deltacron' sequences reported by several large media outlets look to be quite clearly contaminated. He said in a tweet, "they do not cluster on a phylogenetic tree and have a whole Artic primer sequencing amplicon of Omicron in an otherwise Delta backbone."

Small update: the Cypriot 'Deltacron' sequences reported by several large media outlets look to be quite clearly contamination - they do not cluster on a phylogenetic tree and have a whole Artic primer sequencing amplicon of Omicron in an otherwise Delta backbone.

— Tom Peacock (@PeacockFlu) January 8, 2022

Kostrikis, however, said in an emailed statement that the cases identified by his team "indicate an evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations and not a result of a single recombination event."