Russia (bbabo.net), - Doubts have arisen regarding the new Deltacron strain discovered in Cyprus. Perhaps this is simply the result of the negligence of the researchers.
"It is too early to call" deltacron "a new variant of the coronavirus, it is possible that some samples were contaminated with others in the laboratory," suggested Kamil Khafizov, head of the scientific group of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.
Recall that the message about the new strain attracted attention because its genome, according to the Cypriot scientists, contained mutations characteristic of both the "delta" and the "omicron". Considering the danger of the "delta" and the infectiousness of the "omicron", the recombinant strain could potentially be very dangerous.
But it looks like there is nothing to worry about this time. On closer examination, the obtained samples "turned out to be similar to laboratory contamination, that is, contamination of some samples with others," Kamil Khafizov explained.
WHO expressed serious doubts about the emergence of a hybrid of "delta" and "omicron"
WHO officials also question the emergence of a new hybrid strain. The head of the WHO technical team, Maria van Kerkhove, wrote on her Twitter: "Don't get ahead of ourselves, let's not use terms like 'deltacron' ... It implies a combination of viruses / variants, but it doesn't. 'Deltacron' is probably there the result of contamination during sequencing ".
"It is premature to talk about the properties of a new strain, the effectiveness of tests and vaccines. First, you need to understand whether it is a new hybrid or was it laboratory contamination. Moreover, other laboratories have not detected something similar," Khafizov stressed.
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