What is the Deltacron Covid variant?
A NEW Covid hybrid has been confirmed in the US and Europe.
Scientists have discovered it is a combination of Delta and Omicron - dubbed "Deltacron".
What is the Deltacron Covid variant?
At least 41 patients with Deltacron Covid, first flagged in January, have been identified in the US and Europe.
A "very small" number of cases have been detected in the UK, health chiefs told The Sun, with more details to come.
Back in January it was found in Cyprus, with 10 mutations from Omicron discovered in it.
It was named "Deltacron", as it features both lineages, but it is not yet known if it’s any more dangerous.
The news comes as hospitalisations in the UK show an uptick, feared to be driven by waning immunity in the elderly.
It will fuel the Government to get going on its spring booster vaccine programme. Although no date for the rollout has been announced.
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What are governments saying about the new variant?
On January 8, Cyprus's Health Minister Michalis Hadjipandelas said the new variant was not yet something to worry about.
He also expressed pride in the country's scientists for discovering the new variant, according to The Jerusalem Post.
In February, the UK Health Security Agency classed the variant as a “signal under investigation”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is “tracking and discussing” the variant’s properties.
Confirmation of the new Deltacron variant comes after several reports from scientists across the world.
A total of 39 cases have been uploaded to GISAID, the virus data bulletin board, 30 of which are in France, eight in Denmark and one in the Netherlands.