What Is 'Deltacron'? Scientist Says COVID Discovery Is New Strain
Aresearcher in Cyprus has reportedly discovered a new strain of coronavirus that combines Delta and Omicron variants. But some experts say the cases are more likely to be the result of laboratory contamination or a co-infection of Delta and Omicron.
According to a report in Bloomberg News, Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, said he dubbed the strain a "deltachron" because of the omicron-like genetic signature within the delta genome.
Kostrikis and his team of researchers have reportedly identified 25 such cases.
"Currently Omicron and Delta have had co-infection and we've got this strain which is a combination of these two," Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV on Friday.
"We will see in the future whether this strain is more pathological or more infectious" than Delta and Omicron, Kostriakis said, but added that he believes the highly infectious Omicron variant will remain the dominant strain.
Kostrikis has been contacted for additional comment.
According to Bloomberg, the researchers have sent their findings to GISAID, a data-sharing hub that tracks the virus.
Some experts have suggested that cases are more likely to result from laboratory contamination or a co-infection of Delta and Omicron.
Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College's Department of Infectious Diseases, said on Twitter: "The Cyprus 'Deltakron' sequences reported by several large media outlets appear to be quite clearly contaminant - they do not cluster on a phylogenetic tree and are not a phylogenetic tree. otherwise the entire arctic primer sequencing amplicon of Omicron in the delta backbone."
In another tweet, Peacock pointed out that contamination is common when new variants are sequenced in laboratories.
"In this case potentially by mixing small amounts of RNA sample/swab material in sequencing laboratories - which then looks like the virus has mixed in the real world (when it hasn't) - it's usually because the liquid Could be the reason for this issue...," he wrote.
Late last month, Peacock also explained that any perceived new strains must be detected in multiple laboratories before they can be classified.
He also expressed doubts about timing because "true recombinants" do not appear until weeks or months after substantial co-circulation of many types.
“We are only a few weeks into Omicron – I really doubt there are any [prevailing] recombinants yet…,” he wrote on December 28.
Peacock also noted that "what we understand makes Delta more permeable/transitive than what Omicron already has - it's not clear to me at present what Omicron might gain from Delta ( which we at least know at present)."
