Anatoly Altstein said that viral strains are constantly changing and the new variant “will not become epidemic” and “will not be able to reach the global level.” According to the virologist, “deltacron” can be attributed to mutant strains. These are existing strains with changes that occur constantly and already number dozens.
“Regarding this mutant, there is nothing there that is threatening for us. Strains can recombine with each other. Such things are well known in molecular genetics, have been studied for a long time. Such things are possible, and such recombination can lead to the emergence of new strains with new properties,” Altstein said.
He added that in this case, scientists do not see “anything that would cause great concern.”
Experts expect an increase in the incidence of coronavirus in Russia
Virologist Viktor Larichev noted that scientists still need to study what properties the new strain received from its predecessors. He clarified that “you need to understand which protein you got from which virus.”
“If it’s from Omicron, it doesn’t seem to be so bad,” Larichev said. He also explained that it is impossible to compare the pathogenicity of different versions of the coronavirus. At the same time, they need to be compared on the same territories. The scientist noted that “let’s hope it won’t get worse.”
The “secret” told that in January, scientists in Cyprus discovered a new mutation of the coronavirus “deltacron”. The variant was found by researchers of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology of the University of Cyprus. The head of the laboratory, Dr. Leontios Kostrikis, said that the new strain is different in that it has 30 mutations. “Deltacron” was found in 11 patients with coronavirus and another 14 people who were not hospitalized.
At the beginning of 2022, it also became known that doctors had discovered a new strain of coronavirus in France. The strain has so far been given the name B.1.640.2. A new version of the virus appeared after one person returned from a trip to Cameroon, after which 20 more people were infected with an unknown strain of coronavirus. Tests revealed an “atypical combination of mutations” in them, the publication noted.