China discovers G4 virus, can trigger pandemic

According to a study published in the US science journal PNAS on Monday stated researchers from China have discovered a fresh type of swine flu name G4 that can trigger a pandemic.

G4 is genetically plunges from the H1N1 that caused a pandemic in 2009. Researchers and scientists at Chinese universities and China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention say it possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans" adding it needs close monitoring.

The researchers after conducting over 30,000 nasal swab tests from different breeds of pigs across ten Chinese provinces over seven years have found an analysis that states G4 is observed to be highly infectious, replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms than other viruses.

The tests also claimed that any immunity human beings gain from exposure to seasonal flu does not provide protection from G4.

According to blood tests which showed up antibodies created by exposure to the virus, 10.4 percent of swine workers had already been infected and 4.4 percent of the general population also appeared to have been exposed.

The virus has already passed from animals to humans but there is no evidence yet that it can be passed from humans to humans. This is a cause of worry for scientists and researchers.