Corona virus – Deltakron: That’s what you know about the new virus variant – News

In the meantime, a new corona variant has appeared in several countries: Deltakron. This is a recombinant virus variant, a cross between delta and omicron. What is known about the mixed form so far? Science editor Katrin Zöfel provides answers.

Katrin Zöfel

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Katrin Zöfel is a science editor at SRF. She is a biologist trying to understand how science can help find answers to questions that are important to society.

Where was the new hybrid variant discovered? There have been rumors about Deltakron in Cyprus before, but it was almost certainly just a lab error. But last week, French researchers from the Institut Pasteur presented the first solid evidence of the existence of this recombinant variant. Accordingly, Deltakron has been circulating in France since the beginning of January.

How common is the new mixed form? It is very rare and so far there is no evidence that it can prevail against the dominant omicron variants.

Where has Deltakron already performed? The variant has so far been detected in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the USA.

Deltakron did not inherit Delta’s seriously ill properties.

How does this recombination variant arise? If two virus variants infect a person at the same time, it can happen that both variants infect the exact same cells in their body. If these cells then start to produce viruses, it can happen that the genetic material of the two variants mixes and a cross occurs.

How dangerous is Deltakron? One often hears fears that delta and omicron could combine their properties: delta triggers more severe courses, omicron is particularly contagious and bypasses the immune response. Both combined in one variant would be particularly harmful. But it doesn’t look like the current Deltakron is such a “scary variant”.

Why no «scary variant»? The gene for the spike protein of the new variant comes almost entirely from omicron – other genes come from delta, which is not yet known. The spikes are the spikes on the surface of the corona virus. Scientists suspect that omicron’s specially shaped spike protein is responsible for two things: the fact that omicron is milder and more likely to infect nasal mucosal cells than cells deep in the lungs, and that the omicron variant is also not well recognized by a human’s immune system that was previously infected with older variants. That’s why Omikron is so good at infecting people who have already been infected again.

Deltakron may have inherited both properties from Omikron, but not the more seriously ill properties of Delta. These are assumptions based on the genetic sequence. Reliable data will soon be available when researchers have carried out experiments with cell cultures, mice and hamsters.

How will Deltakron influence the course of the pandemic? So far it looks like the variant isn’t going to have a particularly big impact.

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