A new hybrid variant of coronavirus, named Deltacron, has been detected in samples in the United Kingdom (UK), stated the country′s health security agency. The variant has the characteristics of both Delta and Omicron strains.

The UKHSA said that the hybrid variant is being monitored. There is no official information from the agency thus far about the infectivity of Deltacron or the severity of its symptoms.

This hybrid variant was first identified in Cyprus late last year. Leonidos Kostrikis, from the University of Cyprus, stated that his team had identified 25 cases of Deltacron. Kostrikis stated that Deltacron presents with Omicron-like genetic signatures in the Delta genome.

The sequences of the 25 cases identified as having Deltacron were sent to GISAID on January 7, 2022… (NDTV, February 17, 2022)