Chinese Researchers Warn of New Swine Flu Strain With Human Pandemic Potential, Nothing Good Will Ever Come Out Of China

A strain of flu that has become prevalent in pigs in China that can be passed to humans could become another pandemic and needs to be closely monitored, according to researchers behind a new study. The study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences focuses on influenza found in Chinese pigs called G4 EA H1N1. Researchers say the virus is a blend of a similar strain found in European and Asian birds, the H1N1 strain that caused the 2009 pandemic, and a North American H1N1.  Researchers analyzed nearly 30,00 swabs collected from pigs at slaughterhouses in ten Chinese provinces collected between 2011 and 2018. They found 179 swine influenza viruses, the majority of which were G4.  “G4 virus has shown a sharp increase since 2016, and is the predominant genotype in circulation in pigs detected across at…

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