"Deltacron" recognized as a new variant of COVID - How fast is it spreading?

The "Deltacron" has been officially recognized as a variant of it COVID-19, with confirmed cases in France and the USA. Combining mutations from both Omicron and Delta, concerns were raised earlier this year following laboratory research in Cyprus, according to a Sky News article.

It is recalled that Deltacron was first mentioned from Cyprus in January by Professor Leontios Kostrikis. On January 7, he announced that he and his colleagues had succeeded in the laboratory of the first worldwide identification of a recombination of Delta and Omicron strains, which he named Deltacron. of the sample.

Now, virologists from the L'Institut Pasteur in Paris have analyzed the sequence of the genome of a genuine "Deltacron" variant.

According to the Sky News article, the cases have been confirmed in several areas of France and appear to have been circulating since the beginning of January.

In a March 9 update, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the strain was also found in the Netherlands and Denmark.

There are two confirmed cases in the US with a number of other suspected infections.

And last month, the UK Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA) revealed that a Delta x Omicron case had been discovered in a person affected by both variants.

Reports indicate that it is only a matter of time before more cases are confirmed.

What is' Deltacron »;

Scientists say the "backbone" of the variant comes from the Delta, while its spike - the part of the virus that attaches to human cells - comes from Omicron.

Combined viruses occur when someone is infected with two variants at the same time and their cells reproduce together.

Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO technical director for COVID-19, said that this mutation was "expected, especially with the intense circulation of Omicron & Delta".

She added that her team "watched and discussed" the variant.

Is Deltacron in the UK?

Should we worry?

The Delta variant had more serious effects on those who caught it, while the Omicron was more contagious. This can cause concern for a strain that combines both.

However, scientists point out that there is now substantial immunity in the human population to both variants and there is no reason to believe that this would pose a risk to vaccines.

Dr. William Lee, Chief Researcher at Helix, a California-based laboratory that analyzes the sample sequence COVID-19 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he told USA Today: "The fact that there is not so much, that even the two cases we saw were different, suggests that it is probably not going to go up in a variation in the level of concern."

Dr Van Kerkhove added: "There are very low levels of this detection where the Deltacron has been found."

He also confirmed that they had not seen "any change in severity" and that studies would continue to monitor its effects.

Health Minister Sajid Javid said "there are no concerns" when asked about the Deltacron variant.

"There are variations that we would obviously keep in mind," he said.

"The most recent concern was Omicron, but we were successful as a country thanks to the response of the British people.

"There are also so-called Omicron variants and we do not care about any of them at this important time.

"We are keeping it under consideration, but we have absolutely no concerns," it said.