China researchers identify flu with pandemic potential

The world is still suffering majorly from coronavirus and has a long way to go before being declared as ‘free from the deadly outbreak’ and now according to the latest reports, China has identified another restrain of flu which has potential to translate into another pandemic.

The flu, though carried by the pigs, can be contracted by humans. The researchers have said it might not be an immediate problem but has full potential in being the reason for a global outbreak as they fear that the virus can mutate and can be transferred very easily from one person to the other.

Even the White House advisor for coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci confirms the news by saying that this virus traces back to the 2009 H1N1 flu and 1918 Pandemic flu. The virus, which scientists are calling “G4 EA H1N1,” has not yet been shown to infect humans but it is exhibiting “reassortment capabilities,” Fauci told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The H1N1 swine flu and 1918 pandemic flu were both considered horrific viruses that spread across the globe.

He did not deny the possibility of another outbreak of the 2009 kind. Though another expert, Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the University of Washington says, “This is not a *new* new virus; it's been very common in pigs since 2016," he tweeted. "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," reports CNN.

This piece of information has come at a time when the world is already battling coronavirus with 10.3 million people globally and caused more than 505,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.