A new COVID-19 variant called Deltacron was discovered by medical experts in Cyprus. As of the moment, this new virus has already infected 25 individuals.
This is alarming because it combines the strains of Omicron and Delta, which are among the most infectious COVID-19 variants right now.
If Deltacron infects more people, government officials and healthcare workers will have difficulty decreasing the rising COVID-19 cases, especially since they are still dealing with the patients infected by Omicron.
Recently, TechTimes reported that another variant, IHU, was identified by the World Health Organization. On the other hand, Flurona, a co-infection between COVID-19 and influenza, was also spotted in some U.S. states.
New COVID-19 Deltacron
According to NDTV's latest report, Professor Leondios Kostrikis, a biological expert at the University of Cyprus, discovered the new Deltacron variant.
In this picture taken on April 29, 2020, an engineer shows a plastic model of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Quality Control Laboratory at the Sinovac Biotech facilities in Beijing. - Sinovac Biotech, which is conducting one of the four clinical trials that have been authorised in China, has claimed great progress in its research and promising results among monkeys. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) / TO GO WITH Health-virus-China-vaccine,FOCUS by Patrick Baert
"There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two," said Kostrikis, who is also the head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology.
At first, the new Deltacron variant was suspected as a result of laboratory contamination. However, Leondios clarified that the new strain was created by evolutionary pressure and not by a recombination activity, as reported by Bloomberg.
This simply means that the new COVID-19 variant is not a result of laboratory error.
How Serious is Deltacron?
Since the new Deltacron is a new variant, medical experts in Cyprus are still observing it. Although its severity and infectivity are not yet confirmed, Kostrikis said it might be more contagious than Omicron.
Right now, this new strain is mostly found in hospitalized patients. But, experts did not clarify if the hospitalization is one of the main factors why Deltacron appeared.
For more news updates about COVID-19 and other new virus strains, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
