'Delta Variant + Omicron' Deltacron... Health Authorities Say "No Domestic Entry"

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (Head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters), is speaking at the "Omicron Outbreak Outlook and Future Tasks Discussion" held on the 7th at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The quarantine authorities announced that the 'Deltacron' COVID-19 variant virus discovered in the island country of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Republic of Cyprus, has not yet been confirmed domestically.

On the 9th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) responded to inquiries about the possibility of the Deltacron variant found overseas entering the country.

The CDCH explained, "The 'Deltacron' reported in Cyprus is the existing Delta variant virus with an additional 10 specific mutations from the Omicron variant," adding, "Cyprus health authorities and experts have stated that it is still too early to be concerned about this variant and that further information is needed."

They added, "Since changes in the characteristics of Deltacron cannot be ruled out, we will continuously monitor whether it enters the country and its occurrence trends."

Earlier, on the 8th (local time), TASS news agency reported that experts from the University of Cyprus' Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology discovered the hybrid variant Deltacron, which is a mix of Delta and Omicron variants.

According to the report, Leontios Kostrikis, director of the institute, explained, "The new hybrid variant combines several mutation elements of Omicron on the genetic basis of the Delta variant," and "Among the 30 Omicron mutations, 10 were confirmed in the Cyprus hybrid variant."

He continued, "The Deltacron variant was found in 25 samples collected in Cyprus, of which 11 samples were from patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, and the remaining 14 samples were obtained from the general public."

Kostrikis said, "We will observe whether the Deltacron variant is more potent, more contagious, or has greater transmissibility than the Delta or Omicron variants."

The institute plans to send 25 nucleotide sequences of the Deltacron variant to international databases for further testing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.