Virus with 'pandemic potential' identified in China, but no real threat yet

Despite five years of extensive exposure of humans to the virus, there's no evidence of it spreading from one person to another

A flu virus strain, identified among pigs in China, is jumping species to infect swine industry workers, according to a study which says the pathogen has "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus," however experts say there is no imminent threat of another global outbreak.

The study, published in the journal PNAS, is based on a surveillance of pigs in China from 2011 to 2018, and found that the influenza virus strain, with genetic material termed as G4 genotype, has become predominant in swine populations since 2016.

According to the scientists, including those from the Chinese Center for Disease Control