New swine flu found in China has pandemic potential, researchers say
- Named G4, virus is genetically descended from H1N1 strain behind 2009 outbreak
- Tests show 10.4 per cent of swine workers and up to 4.4 per cent of general population may have been exposed
Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study published on Monday in the US science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
It possesses “all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans”, say the authors, scientists at Chinese universities and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
From 2011 to 2018, researchers took 30,000 nasal swabs from pigs in slaughterhouses in 10 Chinese provinces and in a veterinary hospital, allowing them to isolate 179 swine flu viruses.
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New type of swine flu found in China has human pandemic potential, researchers say
Most were of a new kind that has been dominant among pigs since 2016.
The researchers then carried out various experiments including on ferrets, which are widely used in flu studies because they experience similar symptoms to humans – mainly fever, coughing and sneezing.