. 
Scientists in Cyprus believe they have discovered a new variant of the coronavirus that is a mix of an omicron and a delta. However, the FHI believes that this is a laboratory error.
- For now, we believe that the so-called new variant of the 'delta crown' is a laboratory error and not a new variant. If the WHO confirms that this is a new variant, we need to take a closer look at it, writes chief physician Preben Aavitsland at the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) in an email to Dagbladet.
Does Delta Exist?
The FHI is awaiting more information in order to obtain a better basis for assessing the Cypriot performance.
- For now, it may seem that there may be problems with the generated results. When you do this sequencing and look at viruses in detail, it doesn't take much for "background debris" to appear in the gene sequences. These may indicate that the virus is not what you think, says manager Karoline Bragstad at FHI.
Several people have doubts about the "variant"
The FHI rating is in line with that of several international researchers, writes VG.
- The delta coronavirus may not be real and is likely due to laboratory contamination of sequence fragments with an omicron in the delta sample, writes Krutika Kupalli on Twitter.
Krutika Kupalli is an infectious disease expert and member of the WHO Covid group.
Kupalli is supported by virologist Tom Peacock of the Imperial Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London. He has been following the 'Delta Crown' since December and believes it was a contamination or a double infection.
Source: NTB
Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB
Read our next article: The FHI is working on a risk report for a new virus variant discovered in South Africa.
