New 'Deltacron' Variant Is Rare And Similar To Omicron, Experts Say

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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.New ‘Deltacron’ Variant Is Rare and Similar to Omicron, Experts Say

Scientists have found a handful of cases of a new, hybrid variant in Europe and the United States. It’s unlikely to cause trouble, they say.

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By Carl Zimmer

• Published March 11, 2022Updated May 4, 2022

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In recent days, scientists have reported that a hybrid of the Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants has been popping up in several countries in Europe. Here’s what is known so far about the hybrid, which has picked up the Frankensteinian nicknames of Deltamicron or Deltacron.

How was it found?

In February, Scott Nguyen, a scientist with the Washington, D.C., Public Health Laboratory, was inspecting GISAID, an international database of coronavirus genomes, when he noticed something odd.

He found samples collected in France in January that researchers had identified as a mix of Delta and Omicron variants. In rare cases, people can be infected by two coronavirus variants at once. But when Dr. Nguyen looked closely at the data, he found hints that this conclusion was wrong.

Instead, it looked to Dr. Nguyen as though each virus in the sample actually carried a combination of genes from the two variants. Scientists call such viruses recombinants. When Dr. Nguyen looked for the same pattern of mutations, he found more possible recombinants in the Netherlands and Denmark. “That led me to suspect that these might be real,” he said in an interview.

Dr. Nguyen shared his findings in an online forum called cov-lineages, where scientists help one another track new variants. These collaborations are essential to double-check possible new variants: A supposed Delta-Omicron recombinant found in January in Cyprus turned out to be a mirage resulting from faulty laboratory work.

“There’s a lot of proof that’s needed to show that it is real,” Dr. Nguyen said.

It turned out that Dr. Nguyen had been right.

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