Covid-19:’Deltacron’ with genes of Delta and Omicron found; dogs sniff out virus with high accuracy
As per the reports of some recent studies on Covid-19 ‘Deltacron’ with genes of Delta and Omicron are found. Hybrid versions of the coronavirus that combine genes from the Delta and Omicron variants – dubbed “Deltacron” – have been identified in at least 17 patients in the United States and Europe, researchers said. Because there have been so few confirmed cases, it is too soon to know whether Deltacron infections will be very transmissible or cause severe disease, said Philippe Colson of IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille, France, lead author of a report posted on Tuesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review.
His team described three patients in France infected with a version of SARS-CoV-2 that combines the spike protein from an Omicron variant with the “body” of a Delta variant. Another two unrelated Deltacron infections have been identified in the United States, according to an unpublished report by genetics research company Helix that has been submitted to medRxiv and seen by Reuters.
On virus research bulletin boards, other teams have reported an additional 12 Deltacron infections in Europe since January – all with an Omicron spike and a Delta body. New research adds to evidence that trained dogs could help screen crowds to identify people infected with the coronavirus. The many coronavirus particles inside an infected person likely include some mutated ones that may turn out to be early examples of important variants, new findings suggest.
