Public unlikely to be infected by G4 flu

Current evidence suggests it is extremely unlikely that the public will be infected by the G4 swine influenza virus, a subtype of the H1N1 swine flu virus that caused the 2009 influenza pandemic, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on July 3.

On June 29, Chinese scientists published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that said they had found a group of viruses — referred to as the “Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza viruses” — in Chinese pigs. They found the viruses could infect humans and therefore are of potential pandemic concern.

The study said the group of viruses includes six strains, labeled from G1 to G6, with the G4 variant being the most worrisome.