Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that has the potential to trigger a pandemic. The virus is called G4 EA H1N1 and comes from the strain that was responsible for the global spread of H1N1 in 2009.
The scientists report on this in a study published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The virus has “all the essential features for good adaptation to humans,” the scientists write in their results.
examination
According to a report in the Guardian, the researchers took a total of 30,000 swabs from pigs in Chinese slaughterhouses and a veterinary clinic between 2011 and 2018. 179 different swine flu viruses were isolated.
Then those were examined, including on ferrets. The animals are common in flu studies because they have symptoms similar to those of humans. G4 has been found to be highly infectious and has the ability to reproduce in human cells. This type also causes more severe symptoms than other viruses.
Tests have also shown that immunity to seasonal flu does not protect against G4. Appropriate vaccinations would first have to be adapted.
“Distracted by the Corona Virus”
The participating scientist Kin-Chow Chang is doing research at Nottingham University in the UK, among other things, and tells the BBC: “At the moment we are distracted by the corona virus – and rightly so. But we must not lose sight of potentially dangerous new viruses.”
The doctors therefore strongly recommend that you closely monitor the virus and its spread.
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