Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist who has become the public face of the nation’s battle against the coronavirus, says that a new strain of swine flu that appears to be emerging in China bears similarities to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
As CNBC reported, though for the past several months almost all of the attention in the infectious disease community has been put on the COVID-19 pandemic, other contagious illnesses are still an issue. And a new one looming on the horizon appears to be emerging from China.
Specifically, health officials are keeping a close eye on a pathogen that is spreading among pigs. “G4 EA H1N1,” as it’s officially known, hasn’t yet shown the potential to infect humans, but the organism does appear to be showing “reassortment capabilities.”
In other words, says Fauci, it could yet mutate into a disease that infects humans.
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