Chinese Researchers Warn of Latest Virus in Pigs With Human Pandemic Risk

Chinese Researchers Warn of Latest Virus in Pigs With Human Pandemic Risk 

A new flu virus found in Chinese pigs has become more infectious to humans and wishes to be watched closely just in case it becomes a possible "pandemic virus", a study said, although experts said there's no imminent threat.

A team of Chinese researchers checked out influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018 and located a "G4" strain of H1N1 that has "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus", consistent with the paper, published by the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Pig farm workers also showed elevated levels of the virus in their blood, the authors said, adding that "close monitoring in human populations, especially the workers within the swine industry, should be urgently implemented."

The study highlights the risks of viruses crossing the species barrier into humans, especially in densely populated regions in China, where millions sleep in close proximity to farms, breeding facilities, slaughterhouses and wet markets.

The coronavirus that caused the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic is believed to possess originated in horseshoe bats in southwest China, and will have spread to humans via a seafood market in Wuhan, where the virus was first identified.

The PNAS study said pigs are considered important "mixing vessels" for the generation of pandemic influenza viruses and involved "systematic surveillance" of the matter.

China took action against an epidemic of avian H1N1 in 2009, restricting incoming flights from affected countries and putting tens of thousands of individuals into quarantine.

The new virus identified within the study may be a recombination of the 2009 H1N1 variant and a once prevalent strain found in pigs.

But while it's capable of infecting humans, there's no imminent risk of a replacement pandemic, said Carl Bergstrom, a biologist at the University of Washington.

"There's no evidence that G4 is circulating in humans, despite five years of in depth exposure," he said on Twitter after the paper's publication. "That's the key context to stay in mind."