A new variant of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a hybrid version of Delta and Omicron strains, has been discovered in Cyprus. Dubbed as “Deltacron”, the new variant bears the genetic basis of Delta, along with some mutations specific to Omicron strain.
SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain
The new strain was named by Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, writes Bloomberg.
Deltacron was identified in 25 samples taken in Cyprus, of which 11 came from people hospitalized and 14 from the general population.
The frequency of mutations was higher among those in the hospital, which could suggest that there is a correlation between Deltacron and hospitalizations, Cypriot officials say.
“We’ll see in the future if the strain is more pathological or more contagious,” Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV.
The researchers sent forth the information to an international database.
Deltacron variant emerged while Omicron is spreading rapidly throughout the world leading to an accelerated increase in the number of infections.
In the US, Omicron pushed COVID hospitalizations to record highs. According to Reuters, there are now more people being treated in medical centers than in January last year, when more than 132,000 hospitalizations were recorded.
Health care officials in the United States reported more than a million cases of Covid19 infections in a single day early this week and later on more than 800,000 people were confirmed with the disease on a daily basis.
