What is The New Swine Flu?

What is The New Swine Flu?

Everyone is very aware of the current Coronavirus pandemic that we are facing, however, a new strain of flu that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China. The flu has only emerged recently and is carried by pigs, but can infect humans, according to scientists in China. The reason people are talking about this strand of swine flu is because researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so the flu could spread easily from person to person, and trigger another global pandemic. Continue reading this article to find out what the new swine flu actually is and if it has the potential to trigger another pandemic.

Could There be Another Pandemic?

Although this strain of swine flu is not an immediate problem, reports according to the BBC say that it has “all the hallmarks” of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring. As this virus is new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

The scientists write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that measures to control the virus in pigs, and the close monitoring of swine industry workers, should be implemented immediately to prevent another pandemic.

What is The Likelihood of There Being Another Pandemic?

A bad new strain of influenza is among the top disease threats that experts are watching for, even as the world attempts to bring to an end the current coronavirus pandemic.

The last pandemic flu the world encountered – the swine flu outbreak of 2009 – was less deadly than initially feared, largely because many older people had some immunity to it, probably because of its similarity to other flu viruses that had circulated years before.

The original swine flu virus, called A/H1N1pdm09, is now covered by the annual flu vaccine to make sure people are protected.

The new flu strain that has been identified in China is similar to 2009 swine flu, but with some new changes.

So far, it hasn’t posed a big threat, but Chinese scientists who have been studying the virus

How worried should we be?

The virus, which the researchers have called G4 EA H1N1, can grow and multiply in the cells that line the human airways. The scientists found evidence of recent infection in people who worked in abattoirs and the swine industry in China when they looked at data from 2011 to 2018. Current flu vaccines do not appear to protect against the new strand of swine flu, although they could be adapted to do so if needed.

A flu pandemic could potentially occur at any time, but pandemics are still very rare events. Pandemics usually occur if a new strain of a disease emerges that can easily spread from person to person. Although flu viruses are constantly mutating – which is why the flu vaccine also needs to change regularly to keep up, they do not usually result in becoming a pandemic.