New virus in China after corona wit 'pandemic threat' - See wetin we sabi about di flu virus wey fit be swine flu

Scientists don identify one new strain of flu wey get di potential to become anoda pandemic for China.

E come out recently and na pig dey carri am, but e fit infect humans, na so di scientists tok.

Di researchers dey concerned say e fit change further so dat e fit spread easily from pesin to pesin, and trigger global outbreak.

While e no be immediate problem, dem say, e get "all di hallmarks" to highly adapt to infect humans and need close monitoring.

As e dey new, pipo fit get little or no immunity to di virus.

Di scientists write inside one journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences say need dey to quickly implement measures to control di virus in pigs, and di close monitoring of swine industry workers.

Pandemic threat

One bad new strain of influenza dey among di top disease threats wey experts dey watch for, even as di world dey attempt to bring to an end di current coronavirus pandemic.

Di last pandemic flu di world encounter - di swine flu outbreak of 2009 - bin dey less deadly than wetin pipo fear say e go be, largely becos many older pipo get immunity to am, probably becos e dey similar to other flu viruses wey don circulate years before.

Di new flu strain wey dem don identify for China dey similar to di 2009 swine flu, but with some new changes.

So far, e never pose big threat, but Prof Kin-Chow Chang and colleagues wey don dey study am, say na one to keep an eye on.

Na sometin for us to worry about?

Di virus, which di researchers call G4 EA H1N1, fit grow and multiply in di cells wey line di human airways.

Dem find evidence of recent infection for pipo wey work for wia dem dey slaughter meat and di swine industry for China when dem look one data from 2011 to 2018.

Current flu vaccines no fit protect pesin against am, although dem fit adapt dem to do so if need dey.

Prof Kin-Chow Chang, wey dey work for Nottingham University for UK, tell BBC: "Right now we dey distracted wit coronavirus and rightly so. But we no fit lose sight of potentially dangerous new viruses."

While dis new virus no be immediate problem, im say: "Make we no ignore am."

In theory, flu pandemic fit occur at any time, but dem still be rare events. Pandemics happen if new strain comot wey fit easily spread from pesin to pesin.

Although flu viruses dey constantly change - dat na why flu vaccine also need to change regularly to keep up - dem no dey usually become pandemic.

Prof James Wood, head of di Department of Veterinary Medicine for di University of Cambridge, say di work "come as a reminder" say we dey constantly at risk of new emergence of pathogens, and farmed animals, with which humans get greater contact than with wildlife, fit act as di source for important pandemic viruses.