Research has shown that a new swine flu virus has been discovered in China that has the potential to be a global pandemic.

Scientists from Chinese universities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDCP) have published a paper containing this in the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), AFP and BBC broadcasts reported on the 29th (local time).

The virus, designated'G4', is a strain of the H1N1 influenza virus that has been transmitted by pigs, but it is known that humans can become infected.

Researchers say the G4, like other viruses that cause pandemic, "has all the essential features necessary for human infection."

From 2011 to 2018, the researchers collected 30,000 samples from pigs in 10 slaughterhouses and animal hospitals in China and isolated 179 swine flu viruses.

As a result, it turns out that the majority of newly discovered viruses have already been widespread among pigs since 2016.

In a virus experiment using ferrets (a type of ferret) that showed symptoms similar to those of humans, the researchers found that the new virus caused more severe symptoms than other viruses, was more contagious, and self-replicated in human cells.

The researchers were concerned that the virus could lead to a pandemic if it spreads easily through human mutation.

He also pointed out that as the virus was newly discovered, people have little immunity to it, and seasonal flu does not produce antibodies to G4.

Antibody tests in pig farms have shown that 10.4% of all workers are already infected with the virus.

The researchers say there is no evidence of G4's transmission to humans, but they need urgent follow-up of those working in pig-related occupations.

"This study reminds us that humans are constantly at risk of developing common pathogens, and that breeding animals that are more in contact with humans than wild animals can be an important source of infectious virus," said James Wood Explained.