New swine flu strain may lead to another pandemic like COVID-19.

Researchers found a new virus, G4 EA H1N1, which genetically descended from H1N1, and has the potential to become a pandemic with no immediate threat.

Researchers found a new virus, G4 EA H1N1, which genetically descended from H1N1, and has the potential to become a pandemic with no immediate threat.Chinese researchers published a paper on June 29, 2020, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They found evidence that the new G4 virus has infected workers on pig farms in China and has the potential to become a pandemic. Researchers further stated that currently, the virus is not an immediate health threat, but controlling the infection in pig populations and monitoring its signs in humans is necessary.

The researchers discovered the virus during a pig surveillance program where they collected more than 30,000 nasal swab samples from pigs from 10 different Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2018. Tests revealed that the G4 virus could infect by binding to human cells and receptors, and it can replicate quickly inside airway cells. Although G4 holds H1N1 genes, people who have received seasonal flu vaccines won't have any immunity. According to CNN, there is currently no indication that the virus spreads from person to person.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, has tweeted that even though the virus meets a lot of the necessary criteria, it is certainly not going to cause a hypothetical 2020 flu pandemic or become a dominant strain in humans.