OREANDA-NEWS. Data on the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus infection in Cyprus, which is a hybrid of Delta and Omicron strains, may be the result of a laboratory error. This was reported by Kamil Khafizov, head of the scientific group for the development of new diagnostic methods based on sequencing technologies at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.

"On January 7, 2022, 25 sequences of a new "variant" of the coronavirus were indeed deposited into the GISAID international database. I put the word "variant" in quotes because on closer examination, they appeared to be similar to laboratory contamination, that is, contamination of one sample with another,"- Khafizov said.

It will take time to determine whether Deltacron is a new strain of the virus. It is also premature to say what properties this strain has and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.

The new Sars-Cov-2 strain was identified in Cyprus in samples from 25 people infected with the coronavirus, Professor Leontios Kostrikis of the University of Cyprus said on 8 January. The sample shares the same genetic basis as "delta" and at the same time has mutations characteristic of "omicron". The new type of virus has been named "deltacron".