A new study led by Hongbo Gao, from the Changchun Veterinary Research Institute and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has made a worrying new virus discovery
Fears are rising over a potential new pandemic after a variant of swine flu normally found in ferrets has jumped to humans. Influenza D, commonly found in the small furry creatures despite being a form of swine flu, has been found in 96% of people in China who were recently tested for the flu.
A new report by several Chinese experts has confirmed that Influenza D is no longer just an animal problem.
A new strain of IDV has evolved to become highly infectious and can spread through the air between mammals, suggesting it may have already gained the ability to spread easily from person-to-person.
And in a major warning, because high rates of human exposure are already being found, the virus is likely spreading silently, and it is resistant to most current flu drugs.
It is also the first time that this specific strain has been found in humans, with symptoms ranging fever and sneezing to nasal discharge – which has seen the experts call it a serious public health threat, dubbing it a “panzootic threat”.
Led by Hongbo Gao, from the Changchun Veterinary Research Institute and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the report states: “The recently identified IDV strain, D/HY11, replicates efficiently in human primary respiratory epithelial cells, infects mammalian hosts, transmits through the air among ferrets, and exhibits high seropositivity in humans in Northeast China.
“In particular, our study provides the first evidence of efficient airborne transmission of non-adapted bovine IDV among ferrets.
“The absence of clinical manifestations, despite detectable viral replication, raises concerns about the potential for asymptomatic carriers to silently transmit IDV within and between species.”
And they also add: “These observations may suggest evolutionary acquisitions favouring cross-species adaptability”.
Given the newfound discovery, the exact symptoms humans can face are not yet known outside of the basic flu ones, but as it appears to be resistant to any form of drugs with no known vaccine for it yet, the report adds that “preliminary data suggest it would likely remain susceptible to polymerase inhibitors… while exhibiting resistance to both amantadine and neuraminidase inhibitors.”
For the non-scientists among us, it means that it could be susceptible to a newer class of antivirals called polymerase inhibitor.
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