Scientists say they will need to conduct studies to find out the severity of the new variant
Scientists have confirmed the existence of a new COVID-19 variant that combines mutations from both omicron and delta variants for the first time, and there are reported cases in both Europe and the U.S.
The new hybrid variant, unofficially dubbed "deltacron", was confirmed through genome sequencing performed by scientists at IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, France, and has been detected in several regions of France, according to a paper posted to the preprint database
medRxiv on Tuesday (March 8).
Cases have also been found in Denmark and The Netherlands, according to the international database
GISAID. Separately, two cases have been identified in the U.S. by the California-based genetics research company Helix, according to
Reuters. In addition, about 30 cases have been identified in the U.K., according to
The Guardian.
The hybrid variant arose through a process called recombination — when two variants of a virus infect a patient simultaneously, exchanging
genetic material to create a new offspring. Scientists say that the "backbone" of the deltacron variant comes from the delta variant, while its spike
protein — which enables the
virus to enter host
cells — derives from omicron, according to the medRxiv paper.