Scientists say the virus has hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans
This file photo taken on February 23, 2017 shows a worker inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province. Picture: AFP/JOHANNES EISELEResearchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study published on Monday in the US science journal PNAS.
The researchers then carried out various experiments including on ferrets, which are widely used in flu studies because they experience similar symptoms to humans — principally fever, coughing and sneezing. G4 was observed to be infectious, replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms in ferrets than other viruses.
According to blood tests which showed up antibodies created by exposure to the virus, 10.4% of swine workers had already been infected. The tests showed that as many as 4.4% of the general population also appeared to have been exposed.
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