Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Signs and Symptoms. Minus Related Pages. Related Links. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. For a combined variant of the virus to emerge, one person must be infected with two strains of the coronavirus — likely from two separate sources — at the same time, and then the viruses must bump into each other inside the body.
Once the viruses are inside the body, the way they spread is by forcing human cells to make more of them. The coronavirus is made up of genetic material called RNA and, to reproduce, it must force the body to read this RNA and make exact copies of it.
There are inevitably errors when this happens because it happens so fast and so often and natural processes are imperfect. If two viruses are in the same place at once, both being duplicated by the same cells, there is a chance the RNA genes could be mixed up, just as there could be a mix-up if someone dropped two packs of cards at once and picked them all up.
Most places have dominant variants of the virus so someone getting infected with two is unlikely to begin with. And, for healthy people, there is likely only a window of around two weeks before the body starts to develop immunity and successfully clear out the first version of the virus.
This risk window could be cut to days for the majority of people who develop Covid symptoms — which takes an average of five days — and then stay at home sick. But huge, poorly controlled outbreaks like the ones in the UK and US over the winter, significantly raise the risk of the combination events simply because the number of infections is higher. Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician who works with the World Health Organization, agreed that it most likely a lab error.
Dr Thomas Peacock, a virologist from Imperial College London, said the genetical make-up of the 'Deltacron' sequences 'look to be quite clearly contamination'. But European Molecular Biology Laboratory deputy director general Professor Ewan Birney admitted it was possible, but unlikely, that the variants had merged.
He said that a 'key first step' was to confirm if this recombination has actually occurred or if the sequences are a lab error. Meanwhile, the Cypriot team who discovered the variant have hit back at reports that their findings are untrue, insisting they have found a new variant. Dr Leonidos Kostrikis, of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology in Cyprus ,told Bloomberg that the cases he had found 'indicate an evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations and not a result of a single recombination event'.
As part of his argument, he claimed that the samples were processed in multiple sequencing procedures in more than one country with at least one from Israel. While a crossbreeding of Omicron and Delta is technically possible, virologists say it would be incredibly unlikely. Recombination events, as they are scientifically known, could only occur if someone was infected with two different lineages simultaneously. If viruses from both strains infected the same cell then they can, in theory, swap their genetic code and make a new version of the virus.
But researchers have said such an event would require very specific conditions and the coincidence of a number of uncontrollable events. Dr Krutika Kuppalli an infectious-diseases physician who works with the World Health Organization said people should leave the merging of names to celebrity couples and not viruses. Dr Thomas Peacock a virologist from Imperial College London said 'The Cypriot 'Deltacron' sequences look to be 'quite clearly' the result of contamination.
And NY, which was previously seen on Alpha, also helps the virus bind to the body's cells more easily, allowing for it to enter the body and replicate more efficiently. Meanwhile, it has 26 mutations on its spike protein that haven't been seen in previous variants. Three mutations found on the furin cleavage site may increase Omicron's transmissibility. A series of mutations may help the virus bind to the human cell and help Omicron escape the body's immune response.
These include TK, which was also on Delta and QR, which has not been seen on variants of concerns before.
Two mutations in the nucleocapsid — RK and GR, found on the Alpha and Gamma strains — may be associated with increased infectivity. Additionally, there would be no guarantee even if it did occur that it would result in a more dangerous strain.
However, MPs were warned about the prospect of a so-called Deltacron variant just last month. Covid vaccine maker Moderna's chief medical officer Dr Paul Burton warned it was 'certainly possible'. Only three strains created by viruses swapping genes have been officially recorded over the course of the pandemic, but these have faded away rapidly.
In one case, Alpha merged with B. It only led to 44 cases in the UK before disappearing. Avoid close contact - Put distance between yourself and other people. Looking for ways to cope with stress? Need help? Visit CDC for resources. For guidance on face coverings, visit the CDC. Wash your hands - Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Clean and disinfect - This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
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