There’s a new COVID-19 strain. It’s called “Deltacron,” and it could be just as contagious as measles, experts say.
You read right. There’s a new Coronavirus strain in town, and it was first detected back in January. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the emergence of Omicron BA. 2, or “Deltacron,” which is a hybrid sub-variant of Omicron and Delta.
According to Reuters, 17 cases of Deltacron have been confirmed around the globe. So far, the variant has made its way to Denmark, France and the Netherlands. And yep, it’s in the States, researchers say. NBC Chicago reports there are at least two cases in the U.S.; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reportedly yet to acknowledge the cases and they haven’t been marked as being monitored.
WHO epidemiologist and professor at the University of South Australia says the new strain could be just as infectious as the measles, as the strain is 1.4 times more contagious than the original Omicron strain, Contagion Live reports. “This makes it pretty close to measles, the most contagious disease we know about,” Esterman wrote in a tweet. However, researchers say it’s too early to determine how transmissible Deltacron infections will be between hosts.
But experts say we should all relax for now.
“It’s only a variant if it produces a large number of cases,” says William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in an interview with USA Today.” So no, if it’s not causing lots of cases, people don’t need to be concerned.”
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