"Deltakron" and "Florona"... Global experts reveal the truth

International experts have questioned the reports received about the discovery of a new mutant of the Corona virus that bears common characteristics of “Delta” and “Omkiron” called “Deltakron”, and they suggested that it was the result of a “laboratory error”, as the World Health Organization spoke about what was reported about a virus that collects Between influenza and corona.

Experts said that the alleged chain "deltacrone" announced by a research laboratory in Cyprus, Saturday, is most likely the result of contamination that occurred in a laboratory, and is not a worrying new mutant.

Cypriot media had reported that a mutant carrying the genetic characteristics of the "Delta" mutant and some "Omicron" mutations had been discovered.

Bloomberg quoted Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, who led the team responsible for discovering "Deltakron", saying that they had found 25 mutations.

But the Bloomberg report noted that at the time it was too early to know if there were actually cases of the new strain.

While it is possible for Corona viruses to combine genetically, it is a rare occurrence, according to AFP, citing scientists, while scientists analyzing the so-called “deltamicron” said that it is unlikely to happen.

Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, tweeted: "The Cypriot deltacron sequences reported by many major media outlets appear to be clearly contaminated."

Dr Krutika Kubali, an expert with the World Health Organization, said there was likely to be "laboratory contamination of omicron parts in the delta sample," according to a CNBC report.

Another senior scientist, Dr. Bogoma Kapisin Titanji, an infectious disease expert at Emory University in Atlanta, advised caution in dealing with such reports.

On Sunday, he tweeted: "Interpret with caution. Currently available information indicates sample contamination rather than a true merging of the 'delta' and 'Omicron' variables."

"The alleged mutations are located in a part of the genome that is prone to error in certain sequencing procedures. This is almost certainly not a biomarker for Delta and Omicron," said Jeffrey Barrett, of Britain's Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Agence France-Presse said many scientists are seeking to combat a "deluge of information" about Covid-19 online.

During the past week, unverified reports emerged of the spread of the so-called "Florona" virus, which is a mixture of influenza and corona, which was denied by the World Health Organization, on Monday.

"Please let's not use words like 'deltacrone' and 'Florona'," said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease expert at the World Health Organization. "These words imply a group of viruses and that doesn't happen."

While people can suffer from influenza and the Corona virus at the same time, the two viruses cannot combine, according to AFP.

And unlike novel variants of COVID-19 such as Omicron, which greatly influence the course of the epidemic, co-infections with influenza and MERS are not new.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the Corona virus has caused the emergence of dozens of mutagens, of which the World Health Organization has classified only four of them as “of concern”: “alpha”, “beta”, “delta” and “omicron”.

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