More than a hoax? Reports of Deltacron cases in UK abuzz, as experts grapple to understand this 'new hybrid'

Last year, when a Cyprus based researcher, Leonidos Kostrikis, talked about Deltacron, a hybrid variant of Omicron and Delta that spreads faster than the two, his assertions were quickly dismissed as ‘hoax’. At the time, most countries were recovering from a devastating second wave of Delta, and discovering the contagiousness of the Omicron variant that was spreading rapidly, and their respective health authorities did not acknowledge Deltacron as either a variant or a hybrid.

It didn’t help that major publications called it a 'lab error’ after Thomas Peacock, a UK based researcher, who works on Covid research at Imperial College London's Barclay Laboratory dismissed the Cyprus researcher’s findings as a case of “contamination”. Kostrikis, however, stood his ground. In an interview to Bloomberg, the researcher who had reportedly identified 25 cases of Deltacron said that these cases signify ‘an evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations’. He further added that it was not a result of ‘a single recombination event’.

Slowly but surely, health experts, and governments are finally registering Deltacron. Although they are quick to assert that at this point, when there is still no clarity over whether Deltacron is a hybrid or not (WHO is yet to declare it as one), there is surely no need for the public to panic.


World Health Organisation (WHO) has been very cautious in using the label of Deltacron. "Let's not use words like Deltacron. Please," WHO's infectious disease epidemiologist, Maria Van Kerkhove, tweeted last month. "These words imply a combination of viruses/variants and this is not happening.” she had added. She further claimed that Deltacron is likely contamination during sequencing.

The sequences of the 25 Deltacron cases that Kostrikis talked about were sent to GISAID, an initiative that promotes the rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and the coronavirus-causing COVID-19 on January 7, 2022 for further analysis and the validity of the Cyprus reseracher's work is yet to ascertained.

Understanding Deltacron, Looking For Symptoms
Reports of the variant being found in the UK have been doing rounds. The Financial Express said that the UK Health Security Agency is monitoring the variant after it was found in some samples. The article also stated that the British media is abuzz with claims that the new strain might have evolved in patients who caught both the Omicron and the Delta variants at the same time.

However, there is no concrete evidence to prove how Deltacron actually happens. Cases of co-injection is rare and researchers are still trying to understand if it is a hybrid in itself, that can jump from one host to another.

The UK Health Security Agency have stated that they are not aware of the contagiousness of this hybrid, and they are still monitoring cases to understand the situation. There is no consensus on what Deltacron symptoms are as well, and while generic Covid symptoms are likely to manifest, if there are some symptoms which are more pronounced than others is yet to be seen.

India In Alert Mode
While the scientific community has still not reached a consensus on the matter of Deltacron, governments across the world are proactively gearing up to monitor it.

According to a New Indian Express report, the INSACOG recently held a meeting to review the situation in the country, and have corroborated that no cases of Deltacron has been found in India so far. However, since cases from various countries are being reported, the government is certainly taking a ‘wait-and-wait’ strategy as far as this hybrid is concerned. Medical experts claim while there is a need to be cautious, there is certainly no cause for unnecessary panic at this stage when whether or not it is a hybrid has been established.