A new strain of the coronavirus that combines the Delta and Omicron variants has been reportedly discovered in Cyprus.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily and Sardinia.
A researcher and professor of biological sciences, Leondios Kostrikis, of the University of Cyprus, called the strain “Deltacron,” because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, according to a report sourced by Persecondnews.com
So far, Kostrikis and his team have found 25 cases of the virus, according to the report. It is still too early to tell whether there are more cases of the strain or what impacts it could have.
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“We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” against the two dominant strains, delta and omicron, Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday.
He, however, believed Omicron will also overtake Deltacron.
The researchers have sent their findings this week to GISAID, an international database that tracks viruses.
The deltacron variant comes as omicron continues its rapid spread across the globe, causing a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Meanwhile, the U.S.has reported a seven-day average of more than 600,000 new cases daily, according to a CNBC analysis Friday of data from Johns Hopkins University, a 72% increase from the previous week and a pandemic record.
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