Swine flu: New strain of virus found in China has potential to transmit easily to humans, cause pandemic
H1N1-like virus has potential to transmit efficiently to humans and cause pandemic, study warns after tests on animals in 10 provinces
An overseas study shows an influenza virus strain commonly found among pigs in China has the potential to transmit efficiently to humans and urged governments to take immediate action to prevent an outbreak.
The study published on Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America said the swine flu virus, identified as the Eurasian avian-like H1N1 strain, were found in 139 of 36,417 pigs taken for tests from 10 provinces.
This strain has been circulating in pigs since 1979 and is different from the H1N1 strain that caused the 2009 flu epidemic, researchers said.
The 2009 epidemic broke out in 214 countries and killed at least 18,209 people. In Hong Kong, 282 patients had severe complications, of whom 80 died.
The researchers found that the Eurasian avian-flu like H1N1 strain was preferentially bound to human-type receptors, and nine of the 10 tested viruses could be transmitted in ferrets by respiratory droplets.
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“After long-term evolution in pigs, the EAH1N1 SIVs have obtained the traits to cause a human influenza pandemic,” they said.