Deltacron – A combination of Delta and Omicron strains has been found. Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus discovered the strain in Cyprus.
Krosis stated, “There are currently Omicron and Delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two”. He and his team identified 25 cases where the omicron-like genetic signatures show within a delta strain. By January 7, they have reported and sent samples to GISAID, the international database for tracking. The effects of the strain are yet to be seen and further studied.
Some scientists speculate that contamination within the laboratory resulted in these findings. However, Krosis remarked in an email statement that in the cases he has discovered, it indicates and evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations. This eliminates the possibility that it was due to contaminated samples.
Cyprus is not the only country that is reporting this sequence. Israel has recently uploaded a sequence that reflects the deltacron findings of Krosis. WHO Health Minister Michael Hadjipantela states that at the moment, Deltacron is not a variant of concern.