Deltacron: Everything we know about the new Covid hybrid variant
12.03.2022 - 20:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Scientists in France are studying a new 'hybrid' Covid variant containing elements of both the Omicron and Delta strains.
Deltacron, as it has been named, is a recombinant variant, which is likely to have emerged as a result of both strains of coronavirus replicating in the same person, scientists say.
The Pasteur Institute in France has now shared the first solid evidence for this variant, which has been found in the UK as well as France and the US, the Guardian reports.
READ MORE:Covid rates surge across England amid new 'hybrid' variant - as Government prepares to ease rules
It comes as the UK recorded a rise in infection rates in all four nations. The government said it would be “continuing to monitor the situation very carefully” amid a rise in case rates in children's hospitals and among the elderly.
However, asked whether he had any concerns around Deltacron, the health secretary said health officials were "not concerned" about any sub-variants of Omicron in the UK.
Here's what we know about the new variant - and what scientists have said about the impact it may have.
Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, told the Guardian that recombinant variants, such as Deltacron, "arise when more than one variant infects and replicates in the same person, in the same cells".
He explained that Deltacron is "a product of both the Delta and Omicron variants circulating in the same population".
Dr Etienne Simon-Loriere said the strains of Delta and Omicron could have in fact formed several different recombinant viruses.
He said that while some cases found in Europe could be the same recombinant being transmitted through travel, the cases found in the UK differ from those found in France. Dr