Deltacron coronavirus hybrid strain identified in Cyprus.

(ORDO NEWS) — Another strain of the causative agent of coronavirus infection was found in samples of 25 patients in Cyprus. So far, it has been given the unofficial name “deltacron” because it combines the features of the “delta” and “omicron” variants.

In Cyprus, 25 cases of infection with a “hybrid” strain of coronavirus were identified, which scientists considered a combination of “omicron” and “delta”.

Previously it was given the name “deltacron”, Bloomberg reported . The first to talk about the new version of SARS-CoV-2 was Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the laboratory of biotechnology and molecular virology.

“Deltacron” has the same genetic basis with the delta-strain and at the same time mutations characteristic of the “omicron” (10 pieces in total). In 11 cases, it was detected in patients who required hospitalization. Genomic sequences were sent to the international GISAID database.

At the beginning of next week, scientists plan to receive more complete information in order to subsequently understand what is the peculiarity of the hybrid variant and whether it is dangerous: for now, according to Kostrikis, it can be assumed that the “deltacron” will be supplanted by the highly contagious “omicron”. The Cypriot Ministry of Health said the new strain was not a cause for concern.

A few days ago it became known that cases of infection with another variant of the pathogen Covid-19 were recorded in France. B.1.640.2, which has over 40 mutations, has been observed since November. Like the omicron, it probably came to Europe from Africa, more precisely, from Cameroon.

The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control have not yet issued any recommendations for B.1.640.2, but the Western media and social media users have produced many fakes.

So, some believed that cases of infection with this option were becoming more and more, that it had already been recorded in the UK. Meanwhile, scientists believe that while B.1.640.2 probably had a chance to spread around the world, in the end it did not.

According to the Cypriot media, the assistant professor of the Department of Virology at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece and a member of the expert committee, Gikas Mallorchini, expressed doubts that a hybrid strain of “omicron” and “delta” really exists. In a post on Twitter, he wrote: “The first independent analyzes show that this is a technical error in the laboratory, which arose in the process of reading the genome.”

In response, Kostrikis, whose team studied the samples with the “deltacron”, called the statement of the Greek colleague incorrect, hasty and “immoral” from a scientific point of view, since he does not know what it is about. The professor promised to notify Mallorchini of the research results. Moreover, according to Kostrikis, another 52 people are suspected of being infected with deltacron.

—

Online:

Contact us: [email protected]

Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.