Expert doubts ‘Deltacron’ can cause severe infection

An infectious disease expert on Friday said the combined genes from the Delta and Omicron variants or "Deltacron" will not cause severe infections, adding that many have been vaccinated against the severity of the virus.

Dr. Rontgene Solante said the recombination of the highly contagious Delta and Omicron variants will “not affect much” despite the limited data on the behavior of the hybrid versions of the coronavirus.

“Well for now, the data are still limited. Hindi pa ganoon kalawak kung ano ang behavior ng combination ng Delta at Omicron. But personally, I believe that with these recombination, it will not affect much so hindi masyado nakadagdag to sa virulence but may implication ito na ganoon pa rin sa transmission,” Solante said during the Laging Handa briefing.

(Well for now, the data are still not yet that extensive regarding the behavior of the combination of Delta and Omicron. But personally, I believe that with this recombination, it will not affect the virulence but it has the implication that it is still the same in the transmission.)

“Because if the Delta is combined with an Omicron, the Omicron has the more heavily mutations so titignan natin kung ano ang mga mutations nito kung ano ang mas marami and I would surmise mas marami dito ang Omicron over that of the Delta and if this is the case we would still be dealing with the more transmissible virus just like the Omicron,” he added.

(Because if Delta is combined with Omicron, the Omicron has the more heavily mutations so if we look at its mutations, I would surmise that it will be more Omicron over Delta and if this is the case we would still be dealing with the more transmissible virus just like the Omicron.)

Experts earlier said that Deltacron reportedly discovered in a Cyprus laboratory is most likely the result of a laboratory contamination

However, the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille, France reported that it is too soon to know whether Deltacron infections will be very transmissible or cause severe disease.

Solante also doubted that it would cause severe infections, noting that many have been vaccinated against the severity of the viral disease.

“I doubt it will cause severe infection and we are now at this point na marami na rin ang nabakunahan so I think humihina na rin ang severity ng virus na ito specially for the younger population,” he added.

(I doubt it will cause severe infection and we are now at this point that many have also been vaccinated so I think the severity of this virus is also declining especially for the younger population.)

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday recorded 592 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 3,668,940.

Meanwhile, a total of 3,564,509 patients recovered from the respiratory disease, while the number of deaths rose to 57,258. — RSJ, GMA News