The Deltacron Covid-19 variant is now being monitored by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) after cases of the strain were detected in the UK.
As reported by Hull Live, the mutant strain is an hybrid of the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus.
According to scientists, it developed in people who became infected with both strains at once — though it is not clear if the UK cases developed in the UK or were brought over from another country.
READ MORE — IKEA urgently recalls food product after 'pieces of plastic' found
It is not yet known whether Deltacron is more or less infectious than previous variants, or if its symptoms differ in severity.
UKHSA has also not shared how many cases have been detected in the UK.
Infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia Professor Paul Hunter told MailOnline: "If both Delta and Omicron are falling then, in theory, this [variant] should struggle to take off."
Sign up to Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Recombinant strains are not common but have been reported on three separate occasions throughout the pandemic.
Cases of Deltacron found in Cyprus last month were originally dismissed as a mistake.
A UKHSA source told MailOnline: "We monitor everything as a matter of course, but we are not particularly anxious about this variant."
Deltacron has been included in the UKHSA's latest weekly variant surveillance report.
