[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the so-called 'Deltacron' variant, a mix of the COVID-19 Delta and Omicron variants, has been discovered in Europe and the United States, the international medical community is on high alert. However, experts are reportedly viewing the likelihood of it causing major problems as low for now.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 12th (local time), the Deltacron variant was first identified recently by American researchers. Last month, Scott Nguyen, a scientist at the Washington DC Public Health Research Institute, discovered the mixture of Delta and Omicron variants in a sample collected in France in January while examining the coronavirus genome database of the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), NYT reported.
There were claims that the report was merely a sample from a patient simultaneously infected with two variants, but it was confirmed that each virus contained a genetic combination derived from the two variants. Scientists refer to such viruses as 'recombinants,' NYT explained.
This recombinant pattern combining Delta and Omicron has also been found in the Netherlands and Denmark. When Dr. Nguyen posted his new findings on the online forum 'COV-Lineage' for variant tracking, other scientists confirmed the validity of his discovery.
As of the 10th, the international virus sequence database has reported 33 Deltacron samples from France, 8 from Denmark, 1 from Germany, and 1 from the Netherlands. Genome sequencing company Helix recently reported to major foreign media that two Deltacron cases were also found in the United States.
However, experts point out that there are many reasons not to be overly concerned about the new virus despite its name. ?tienne Simon-Lori?re, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in France, said, "It is not a completely new cause for concern," noting that Deltacron is an extremely rare virus. Despite existing since at least January, it has yet to demonstrate the ability to spread exponentially.
Dr. Simon-Lori?re also indicated that the genome of this recombinant virus suggests it does not represent a new phase of the pandemic. Since the spike protein gene of this virus is mostly derived from Omicron, people who have antibodies against the Omicron variant through infection or vaccination are believed to have protective immunity against Deltacron as well.
Additionally, experts believe that Deltacron likely shares the spike protein characteristics of Omicron, which is associated with a lower probability of leading to severe illness. Omicron’s spike protein is known to easily penetrate the nose and upper respiratory tract but does not penetrate deeply into the lungs.
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