A new strain of swine flu, the G4 virus, has been described as "very, very dangerous" and could lead to the spread of a new pandemic.
However, Chinese media , in addition to reproducing concerns about a possible new pandemic, advised people not to " overreact ."
Yesterday, it was announced by Chinese researchers that a new and worrying strain of swine flu had been found, which they named "Genotype 4" or simply G4, and comes from the original H1N1 that caused the 2009 pandemic.
Over a period of 7 years, the researchers sampled thousands of pigs from Chinese slaughterhouses and veterinary hospitals, isolating 179 viruses. The majority of them were mainly a new type of virus that had been found in pigs since 2016.
The new G4 virus is a "useful reminder" that humans are at constant risk of infection from new diseases that are not confined to animals.
It was also observed that it is quite infectious, replicates in human cells and causes very serious symptoms in ferrets, which experience a similar virus experience to humans.
Tests have shown that even if some people have some sort of immunity from exposure to seasonal flu, they will not be protected from the new virus. Already, one in 10 employees who worked with pigs in China are rumored to have been infected with G4.
Professor James Wood, an infectious disease expert at the University Cambridge in the UK, said the new discovery highlighted the ease with which diseases can spread between species.
«The research is a useful reminder that we are constantly at risk of zoonotic pathogens and that farmed animals, with which humans have the greatest contact, can be a source of serious infectious viruses..»
Professor Esther Choo, an American emergency physician, tweeted that her colleague, who "rarely worries, this time she will be careful because the new virus is very dangerous," said that "2020 may not be over with us yet."
Although the new virus has the potential to be the next pandemic, scientists believe that this should have occurred by now, and it may never happen.
According to University of Washington biologist Carl Bergstrom : " There is no evidence that the G4 virus has been transmitted to humans, despite extensive research over the past five years. That is a very basic thing to keep in mind ."
Of course, this does not mean that it cannot spread, which is why researchers have called for immediate measures to monitor people who work with pigs.
The Global Times reported that a veterinary expert closely involved in the research said that the G4 virus is similar to swine flu, and that it “can be treated” .
