The Covid-19 strain that combines Delta and Omicron has been found in Cyprus, according to Leondios Kostricis, Professor of Biology at Cyprus University and Head of Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology.
“There are currently Omicron and Delta Co-infections and we find this tension is a combination of both,” Kostrician said in an interview on Friday.
The discovery was named “Deltacron” because of identifying genetic signatures such as Omicron in the Delta genome, he said.
Kostrikis and his team have identified 25 such cases and statistical analysis shows that the relative frequency of combined infection is higher among patients being hospitalized because Covid-19 compared to patients who are not treated at the hospital.
The order of 25 cases “Deltacron” was sent to GISAID, an international database that tracked changes in viruses, on January 7 “We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will win.
Delta and Omicron,” he said.
Other scientists speculate that the findings of the costrician are the result of laboratory contamination.
But Kostrikis, in an email statement, said that the cases he had identified “showed the pressure of evolution at ancestral pressure to obtain this mutation and not the result of a single recombination event.” “Deltacron infection is higher among patients who are hospitalized for Covid than among patients who are not treated in hospitals, so aside the hypothesis of contamination,” he said.
What’s more, the sample is processed in several sequencing procedures in more than one country.
And at least one sequence of Israel is deposited in a global database showing the genetic characteristics of the Deltacron, he said.
Health Minister Michael Hadjipantela said the new variant was not a problem, and more details would be this week.
Bloomberg.