More than one 'Deltacron' Covid hybrid may be circulating as expert issues warning

An expert has warned that there may be a number of ' Deltacrons ' in circulation across the globe. Concerns were raised by epidemiologists earlier this month when virologists from L’Institut Pasteur in Paris submitted full genomic sequencing of a ‘Deltacron’ variant to GSAID, the international Covid database.

The strain, which is said to be hybrid of the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid, has been found in multiple countries - with some even identified in the UK.

Professor Luke O’Neill, from the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, notes that the sequences reported in the UK and US differ to the ones discovered in other countries.He has also warned that the next variant of concern could be ‘more dangerous’ than Omicron. “Variants crop up randomly, and new ones have the potential to be more dangerous than previous ones”, Professor O’Neill wrote in The Conversation.“Another has just arrived, and is currently going by the name of Deltacron.

It is - as you can probably guess - a hybrid of Delta and Omicron, the two variants most dominant recently.”He continued: “There may, however, be different Deltacrons.“Scientists at the Institut Pasteur have said Deltacron sequences reported in the UK and US have certain difference from those found in other countries.“They’ve said that it might be necessary to add a number to these different forms of Deltacron, to indicate which is which.”The professor also went on to say that it is ‘not unusual’ for viruses to mix in this way - which is known as “recombination”.Did you know you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to our daily newsletter?We send a morning and lunchtime newsletter covering the latest headlines every day.We also send