Covid 19: Scientists describe “Deltacron” strains found in several countries

A hybrid variant of Covid-19 that shares the characteristics of both Delta and Omicron strains has been detected in the United States and many other European countries.

Scientists believe that the mutated “Deltacron” strain emerged from patients who were infected with both strains at the same time.

Deltacron was officially recognized as a new variant by virologists at the Pasteur Institute in France after its complete genomic sequence was uploaded to the global Covid database, Gisaid.

Initial analysis of the mutant revealed that it resembles a Delta strain, but contains an Omicron spike protein that increases transmission and can be combined with a stronger Delta and a higher infection rate of Omicron. It caused an early fear of being able to do it.

“Delta basically grabbed Omicron’s peplomer,” Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University, told NBC.

“This is essentially what Delta is trying to plagiarize from Omicron. The genome becomes a bit acrobatic and the fragments can jump and then recombine.

“It’s like printing 70 copies of the same manuscript on your desk, then turning on an office fan to blow things away and try to get everything back. The virus is the same.”

However, scientists believe that the general immunity to both mutants is increasing. This means that it is relatively unlikely that the strain will spill and cause havoc as it did in previous strains.

Dr. Scott Nguyen of the Washington DC Public Health Institute said, “The antibody response to Omicron and other immune responses are exactly the same spikes and should work with this recombinant, so this will be the next big wave. You wouldn’t think. “

However, WHO experts are still lazy and warn that Deltacron may appear in more countries in the coming weeks.

“As we do more sequencing, this recombinant virus may be detected in other countries, but as we understand it, it circulates at very low levels.” Said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove -19, WHO’s Covid technical lead.

According to Gisaid, 30 cases have been detected in the United Kingdom, 36 cases in France, 8 cases in Denmark, and 1 case in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“There are varieties that are clearly likely to continue to be considered,” said Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health.

“The recent concern was Omicron, but thanks to the reaction of the British people, we were able to get through it as a country.

“There are also so-called subvariants of Omicron, and I’m not worried about any of them at this time. I’m continuing to review, but I’m not worried at all.”

The appearance of the Deltacron variant occurred weeks after the Omicron subvariant BA.2 was first detected.

The so-called “stealth” variant first appeared in early 2022 and has already begun to spread around the world, becoming the dominant strain, primarily in a few countries in Asia.

It was first detected in Australia in early 2022, and a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health told news.com.au in a recent statement, “In most Australian states and territories, very few Omicron subvariants BA. 2 was detected. Respiratory sample submitted for testing. “

“Early detection of BA.2 in Australia is a testament to the success of Australia’s genomic sequencing strategy,” the statement continued.

“As with all variants, this will continue to be closely monitored.”

According to experiments in a new laboratory in Japan, the “Son of Omicron” spreads faster than Omicron, can cause more serious illnesses than previous strains, and can fend off the immunity provided by the Covid vaccine. It looked like, but I found that the booster strengthened the defense.

Nancy Baxter, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne, was one of the first to warn about the infectivity of BA.2 in Australia, and BA.2 may be more contagious than Omicron in late January today. Said there was.

“So when you get here, the waves may stretch and it may take some time for the waves to come out, but I’m still not sure enough,” she said at the time.

So far, the World Health Organization has not designated Omicron’s son as a variant of concern or a variant of interest.