China said the study was interpreted “in an exaggerated, non-factual manner”. (Representative)
Shanghai / Beijing:
China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Saturday that the so-called “G4” strain of the swine flu virus is not new and does not easily or easily infect humans and animals , rejecting a study published earlier this week.
This study, carried out by a team of Chinese scientists and published by the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), warned that a new swine flu virus, named G4, has become more contagious for humans and could become a “potential pandemic”. virus”.
However, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that the study had been interpreted by the media “in an exaggerated and not factual manner”.
A ministry analysis concluded that the sample size of the published study is too small to be representative, while the article lacks sufficient evidence to show that the G4 virus has become the dominant strain in pigs.
The ministry said it had drawn its conclusions after holding a seminar on the impact of the G4 virus on the swine industry and public health. Participants included Chinese veterinarians and anti-virus experts, as well as the main authors of the PNAS study.
Participants agreed that the G4 virus is not new, the statement said. In addition, such a strain has been continuously monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and related agencies in China since 2011, according to the statement, citing a senior WHO official.
In addition, the authors of the published study agreed that the G4 virus does not replicate effectively in the human body and does not cause disease, the statement said.
The ministry’s statement was written by Yang Hanchun, a scientist specializing in swine viral diseases at the Agricultural University of China, who also serves as an expert on a ministry epidemic committee.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
