It is believed that at least 1 in 10 people who work with pigs in China have contracted a newly-identified strain of swine flu. Designated genome 4, the virus is genetically descended from the H1N1 swine flu strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.
Chinese scientists say the new virus has the “essential hallmarks” of being highly adapted to infect humans, and a US infectious diseases expert has warned that the new strain is “very, very dangerous”:
It possesses “all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans,” said scientists at Chinese universities and China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention…
The G4 virus was observed to be highly infectious, replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms in ferrets – which experience similar symptoms to humans – than other viruses.
Tests also showed that any immunity humans gain from exposure to seasonal flu does not provide protection from G4…
Already one-in-10 people who worked with pigs in China are said to have contracted G4.
Professor James Wood, who is an infectious diseases expert at the UK’s Cambridge University, said G4’s discovery highlighted the ease at which viruses can jump the species barrier…
Professor Esther Choo, an American emergency physician and US science communicator, warned in a tweet: “2020 may not be done with us yet.”
Professor Choo quoted a colleague, an infectious diseases expert, as saying: “I rarely get worried, but this one bears close watching. This flu strain is very, very dangerous”…
Carl Bergstrom, a biologist at the University of Washington, said: “There’s no evidence that G4 is circulating in humans, despite five years of extensive exposure. That’s the key context to keep in mind,” he said on Twitter…
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily news conference on Tuesday that China was closely following G4 developments.
“We will take all necessary measures to prevent the spread and outbreak of any virus,” he said.
At least the Chinese authorities are being upfront this time around and appear to be taking preventative action to prevent a possible outbreak.
