Print
Advertisement
A new flu virus has been identified with pandemic potential. The new strain of swine flu, which was discovered by Chinese researchers is called the G4 strain of H1N1.
And scientists have warned it possesses ‘all the hallmarks’ of being able to infect humans, giving it ‘pandemic potential’.
‘That’s why it’s scary’
In this exclusive Plant Based News video, PBN founder Klaus Mitchell looks at the details we have so far about this new discovery.
He says: “In a study published in the US science journal PNAS, the new virus is named G4-EA-H1N1. It’s a genetic variant of the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009 and possesses ‘all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans’.
“And this is why it’s scary – because the 2009 swine flu outbreak killed approximately 300,000 people. We now know COVID-19 has killed over 500,000 people. What if the G4 virus is just as infectious but with a higher fatality rate?”
‘No immunity’
According to Mitchell, based on data collected from pigs in slaughterhouses in 10 Chinese provinces, the G4 virus has been observed to be highly infectious. On top of that, humans have no immunity to G4, and once infected, the symptoms are more serious than other viruses.
He says: “Antibody tests showed that more than one in 10 workers in pig farms in the Chinese provinces studied have been infected. And 4.4 percent of the general population have tested positive, which means the virus has already passed from animals to humans. The question now is whether it can be passed from human to human.”
Zoonotic diseases
Mitchell addresses the fact that over the last 20 years, there have been six major threats: SARS, Avian influenza, MERS, Ebola, Swine Flu, and finally COVID-19, which turned into a major pandemic. All of these outbreaks came from animals – either in factory farms or meat markets.
He adds: “The sobering fact is that three out of every four infectious diseases come from animal farming and trading. The cramped, unsanitary and stressful environments in which we keep animals make it easier for viruses to spread. Can we afford yet another lockdown? Yet another financial crash? Yet more deaths due to a virus that could have been avoided if we addressed the root cause.
“How as a society can we continue to justify eating animal products, especially as we live in an age where there are so many alternatives?”
