UC San Diego concerned about potentially dangerous new flu spreading in China
The San Diego Union-Tribune, Gary Robbins, 07/01/2020
CARTA Assoc. Director, Pascal Gagneux, provides a timely word of caution as the global community begins to suffer from pandemic fatigue. Zoonotic spillover infections such as SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 syndrome) are nothing new and are only likely to become more frequent as human populations increasingly encroach upon animal habitats.
The newest virus to come to our attention is a strain of the H1N1 swine flu (circa 2009) that has led to the death of 285,000 people around the world. "This latest version, known as G4, 'is really something we need to pay attention to,' said Pascal Gagneux, a UCSD evolutionary biologist who specializes in influenza. 'It has gone from pigs to humans and seems poised to go from humans to humans. The scary part is that Chinese scientists say that it could target middle-age people with strong, healthy immune systems.'"
Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2020-07-01/uc-san-diego-new-flu-china
