New ‘Deltacron’ Variant Discovered In Cyprus
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Scientists have reportedly found a strain of Covid in Cyprus that blends Delta and Omicron.
There are believed to be 25 cases of the new strain, which scientists have said is a blend of the two previous Covid variants and has been dubbed ‘deltacron’.
Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, made the discovery.
He said:
There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two.
We have found a significant number of mutations only previously found in Omicron cases, which is different from other variants as it has 30 mutations.
Reportedly, the strain has omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes.
Of the 25 cases found, 11 patients were hospitalised with Covid, as per the Cyprus Mail.
Kostrikis said it’s ‘quite possible‘ that the new strain has not been found elsewhere. On January 7, the cases were sent to GISAID, an international database that tracks the development of Covid.
Speaking to Bloomberg about the discovery, Kostrikis said that the future of the strain was unclear.
He explained:
We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail.
However, according to the publication, Kostrikis’ believes this strain will be displaced by the omicron variant.
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