G4 Swine Flu: Chinese researchers have detected a new strain of flu virus in China that has the potential to turn into another pandemic. The new flu virus has emerged recently and it is carried by pigs but has the potential to infect humans.
The main concern of the researchers is that the new strain could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, triggering another global outbreak, probably worse than coronavirus.
According to researchers, the flu virus though is not an immediate problem, it has all the hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans and hence, requires close monitoring. Since the virus is new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.
The Study |
| A team of Chinese researchers found a new “G4” strain of H1N1 while studying the influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018. According to the study, the new strain has all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus. The researchers wrote their findings in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study calls for urgent close monitoring of the human population especially of those people working in the swine industry. |
G4 Swine Flu Virus
• The new virus is a recombination of the 2009 H1N1 variant. The researchers have named the virus G4 EA H1N1. The virus is being considered a potential pandemic threat as it can grow and multiply in the cells that line the human airways.
• The researchers while conducting their study found that pig farm workers showed elevated levels of the virus in their blood.
• None of the current flu vaccines currently appear to provide protection against the new virus strain.
Another Swine Flu outbreak?
Scientists fear that another pandemic could happen during our lifetime and the new influenza strain is among the top disease threats. The new flu strain though similar to 2009 swine flu, has some changes and is expected to be more deadly.
The 2009 swine flu outbreak was less deadly than predicted. Many people were found to be immune to the flu, probably because of its similarity to other flu viruses. The virus called H1N1 is no longer a threat as there is an annual flu vaccine to protect people against it.
Background
As per scientists, a flu pandemic can occur any time but still they are considered rare events. The last major flu the world saw was the 2009 Swine Flu outbreak and the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa in 2013. However, none of the two events became a global pandemic like COVID-19. As per scientists, pandemics happen if the new strain emerges that can easily spread from one person to another.
2009 Swine Flu Outbreak |
| The WHO had declared the H1N1 Swine flu outbreak as a pandemic in 2009 when 30000 cases were reported globally. The pandemic was caused by type A H1N1 influenza virus. The virus was also transmitted from human to human. The symptoms mainly included fever, sore throat, cough, body ache, headaches, chills and fatigue. |
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