US epidemiologist warns of wave of infection of Deltacron hybrid variant

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding has warned that the world is on the verge of another wave of corona virus when closing testing centers in many states across the country. This epidemiologist believes that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is more and more detected in wastewater, paralleling the rise of the Deltacron hybrid variant in Europe. This could be an indicator of the danger that the US is preparing to face this threat.

According to Feigl-Ding, testing sites provide health officials with data to predict large outbreaks and new variants in a way that rapid at-home tests cannot.

As the name suggests, Deltacron is a variant that combines elements of both the Delta variant and the Omicron variant. It is thought to have arisen from a patient infected with both Delta and Omicron variants at the same time.

According to the updated GISAID database of SARS-CoV-2 gene sequencing results, Deltacron has been detected in the UK and Europe, with about 30 infections in the UK, 36 in France, 8 in Denmark and Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands each recorded 1 case.

The level of danger of this variant is still being studied and evaluated. It’s essentially the same as Delta, analysts say, but has the spike protein of Omicron, the part where the virus attaches to human cells.

Early research on the Deltacron hybrid showed that the latest mutant had the dangerous characteristics of Delta and Omicron, which could be very virulent and highly infectious.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Epidemiology Division, recently warned that the Deltacron hybrid variant is likely to appear more in the next few weeks but is being transmitted. spread “at a very low level”.