Scientists in Cyprus have identified a new ‘Deltacron’ COVID strain in 25 patients that combines the Delta and Omicron variants. Leonidos Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, said the strain has a similar genetic structure to Omicron with the genomes of Delta. His team has identified 25 cases of the hybrid variant so far and it is still too early to assess its impact, Bloomberg reported. COVID infections normally only involve one mutant strain, but in extremely rare cases two can strike at the same time. Last month, the boss of Moderna warned of a hybrid mutant that he feared would be even worse than the ones currently sweeping across the globe.

Source: Nigerian Tribune January 10, 2022 02:16 UTC