Fresh cases of new mutant Deltacron Covid strain detected in QLD

Deltacron was first reported in Europe in February this year and has since spread to the US, UK and now Australia.

Cases of the new Deltacron Covid strain have been detected in Queensland just hours after first appearing Australia.

Queensland Health confirmed on Friday that 12 people had fallen ill with the new strain.

It is not known how or where the cases were contracted.

Earlier on Friday, NSW confirmed one case of the new strain.

Queensland reported 12 cases of the variant just hours after it was first detected in Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Deltacron is a recombinant strain, combining genetic material from the two most prevalent variants globally, Delta and Omicron.

It was first reported in Europe in February and has since spread to the US, UK and now Australia.

“Recombination usually creates a new virus that isn’t viable, as the mixing of different genes can interfere with the virus’s ability to make the proteins it needs to survive,” Biochemistry Professor Luke O’Neill told The Conversation.

“But sometimes one does survive, and that appears to be what’s happened with Deltacron.”

It is not known how or where the cases were contracted. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Queensland recorded 10,092 new cases of the virus on Friday, as well as nine deaths.

NSW recorded 20,396 new Covid cases on Friday, while eight people with the virus died.

Studies are underway to determine the properties of the new hybrid variant.

“We have known that recombinant events can occur, in humans or animals, with multiple circulating variants of SARSCoV2. need to wait for experiments to determine the properties of this virus,” World Health Organisation Senior Scientist Soumya Swaminathan posted online.

“Importance of sequencing, analytics and rapid data sharing as we deal with this pandemic,” she tweeted.

Deltacron’s top symptoms

Given that initial Covid symptoms are similar to the flu and the common cold, it has often been difficult to tell whether the onset of headaches, aching pains or cold-like symptoms are actually the virus.

The emergence of new strains make that detection even more difficult, as each variant cannot be specifically identified by at-home test kits.

A UK government study also recently investigated the top symptoms associated with Covid. The ZOE Covid symptom study found that the illnesses will slightly differ depending on whether you have been vaccinated or not, but that the main symptoms include headaches, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, loss of smell and persistent cough.

However, the World Health Organisation has said Deltacron is almost as infectious as measles, and it appears to have similar symptoms to those of Omicron.