A Covid-19 strain combining delta and omicron has been found in Cyprus.
According to Leondios Costericis, professor of biology at the University of Cyprus and head of the Biotechnology and Molecular Virology Laboratory, “There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain, which is a combination of the two.”
The discovery was named “Deltacron” due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, he said.
He and his team have identified 25 such cases and the statistical analysis shows that the relative frequency of the combined infection is higher among patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 as compared to non-hospitalized patients.
The sequences of the 25 Deltacron cases were sent to GISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus, on Jan. 7.
