Scientists in Cyprus have detected a new variant of coronavirus dubbed as ‘Deltacron’- combining both the Delta and Omicron variants.
As per reports, 25 cases have been detected so far. Out of 25, 11 patients were hospitalised while the remaining were from the general public.
Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology during an interview said, “There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two.”
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As per statistical analysis, the relative frequency of the variant is higher among patients hospitalised due to Covid-19.
The sequences of the 25 deltacron cases were sent to GISAID on January 7. GISAID is the international database that tracks changes in the virus.
The newly discovered variant is said to have Omicron-like genetic signatures within the Delta genomes. Also, as per experts, it is not a cause of concern yet.
The experts are yet to find out if the strain is more pathological, contagious and if it will prevail at all.
(With inputs from agencies)
