January 9, 2022: Cyprus Scientists has recently found 25 cases of it “deltacron", a strain of the coronavirus which is believed to be blend elements of the delta and omicron variants. As per reports, the sequences of these deltacron patients were sent to GISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus, on January 7.
The discovery was reportedly made by Dr Leontios Kostrikis, who leads the team of scientists working at the University of Cyprus biotechnology and molecular virology lab. According to media reports, Kostrikis explained that the new variant, Deltacron, shares the genetic background of the Delta variant along with some of the mutations of Omicron.
The term ‘Deltacron’ is not yet officially recognised by the World Health Organisation. However, it has been dubbed by scientists at the University of Cyprus.