Scientists in Cyprus have sent data on the 25 cases of Deltracron to GISAID, the international database that tracks virus changes. This happened on January 7th.
According to existing information, Deltacron is a new COVID-19 strain that combines Delta and Omicron features. It was discovered in Cyprus according to statements made by Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology.
"Currently there are co-infections with omicron and delta and we found this strain that is a combination of these two," Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV. The discovery was called a "deltacron" because of the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures in the delta's genomes, he said.
Kostrikis and his team identified 25 such cases, and the statistical analysis shows that the relative frequency of the combined infection is higher among hospitalized patients due to Covid-19 compared to non-hospitalized patients.
"We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will be over the delta and omicron," said Leondios Kostrikis. But his personal opinion is that this strain will also be replaced by the highly contagious omicron variant.
In the last two years, since the new coronavirus infected humanity, we have witnessed the emergence of many new strains. This is how viruses do, multiply and adapt to infected hosts, resulting in new variants. Unfortunately, there are some strains that stand out through complex mutations and so we had Delta, Omicron, now Deltacron and who knows how many more will appear in the near or distant future. The problem is that we do not know when this pandemic will stop, everything has become uncertain, we are vaccinated to protect our health and those around us, but the end of this pandemic seems to be getting further.
Do you know what's paradoxical? When South Africa announced Omicron, all countries reacted extremely harshly, isolating several territories in the South African area. Instead, when France or Cyprus announced new variants of COVID-19, everything is inert.
What do you think? When will we get rid of this pandemic?