Flu Strain with ‘pandemic potential’ discovered in China

[Smithy]

A new strain of flu that has the potential to become pandemic has been identified in China by scientists.

It emerged recently and is carried by pigs, but can infect humans, they say.
The researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.

They say it has "all the hallmarks" of being highly adapted to infect humans - and needs close monitoring.

As it's new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

A bad new strain of influenza is among the top disease threats that experts are watching for, even as the world attempts to bring to an end the current coronavirus pandemic.

The last pandemic flu the world encountered - the swine flu outbreak of 2009 that began in Mexico - was less deadly than initially feared, largely because many older people had some immunity to it, probably because of its similarity to other flu viruses that had circulated years before.

2020 just will not give us a break will it

[Cal.]

CM7o8NtRgRQ

[armand.kay]

not another one...

[Cherie]

Oh well

[JerseyWins]

At least 2020 is a nice round number for the end of the world

[JerseyWins]

Just realized I made that post at 02:20 ET. It's the prophecy :o

[caprimint]

This is a damn mess

Just realized I made that post at 02:20 ET. It's the prophecy :o
:skull:

[Kazanne]

Payback by all those animals treated so cruelly by people , I would like to think so anyway, but shame so many innocents get caught up in this, some of the festivals and wet markets were supposed to be banned , but still they carry on with their torture for their weird appetites, it's a pity these virus's don't just infect those people who inflict harm .The human race slowly destroying themselves and the planet.The part in bold is tongue and cheek just incase some think it's serious,:hehe:

[Nicky91]

time to all head back into lockdown then


chinese government ''close monitoring'' i don't trust them, they are not capable of containing this, we saw that with covid, how the chinese amateurs failed

[Mystic Mock]

If it's a type of Swine Flu like I've been hearing, then just don't eat Pork in this particular case.

[Nicky91]

If it's a type of Swine Flu like I've been hearing, then just don't eat Pork in this particular case.

or just no more people from China to europe, no more trade with China to europe and rest of the world

[Mystic Mock]

or just no more people from China to europe, no more trade with China to europe and rest of the world

That would harm a lot of countries Economies Nicky.

[user104658]

These things crop up with "potential" all the time, they're just keeping a closer eye on things because of Covid and also it makes "bigger news" for the same reason. There are literally dozens of diseases with the potential to jump to the human population from animals being monitored. You just didn't know about them. Reassuring or terrifying? :joker:

[Livia]

Maybe it's nature trying to get rid of the parasite that's turned the sea into a dumping ground, who rips down rain forests for money, who screw each other over for a percentage... There are more people in the world than is sustainable.

[Cherie]

These things crop up with "potential" all the time, they're just keeping a closer eye on things because of Covid and also it makes "bigger news" for the same reason. There are literally dozens of diseases with the potential to jump to the human population from animals being monitored. You just didn't know about them. Reassuring or terrifying? :joker:

yep every year there is a slightly different strain of flu that they have to tweak the vaccine for and you don't hear a word about it or the number of people old and young who die of flu every year in the world

[Liam-]

Mother Nature wants her planet back

[arista]

Mother Nature wants her planet back


Its not available

[Cal.]

Maybe it's nature trying to get rid of the parasite that's turned the sea into a dumping ground, who rips down rain forests for money, who screw each other over for a percentage... There are more people in the world than is sustainable.

!

[Denver]

The obvious thing is to slaughter all infected pigs

[Kizzy]

Maybe it's nature trying to get rid of the parasite that's turned the sea into a dumping ground, who rips down rain forests for money, who screw each other over for a percentage... There are more people in the world than is sustainable.

Yeah problem is if you call for anything that opposes any of those things you're a loony lefty or a weird kid :/

[user104658]

Its not available

https://media.giphy.com/media/VFrOc3dxXZ3plAfo4h/giphy.gif

[bots]

i think it's clear now that we should all move into Arista's bunker for the duration. I call dibs on the sex robot

[The Slim Reaper]

i think it's clear now that we should all move into Arista's bunker for the duration. I call dibs on the sex robot

He won't even play ps4 with me, and you think he's going to afford you entrance to his bunker?

[user104658]

He won't even play ps4 with me, and you think he's going to afford you entrance to his bunker?

We're doing an Avenger's LAN party down there, he just didn't want you involved :(

[The Slim Reaper]

We're doing an Avenger's LAN party down there, he just didn't want you involved :(

Haha, great bantz

https://media.tenor.com/images/e75b82c6e75e2f03c97d4c48c54004db/tenor.gif

I'll be waiting outside the door, playing tetris if you need an extra player.

[Babayaro.]

The obvious thing is to slaughter all infected pigs

Starting with Cal-Louise?

[Marsh.]

Starting with Cal-Louise?

:joker:

[Liam-]

The obvious thing is to slaughter all infected pigs

All that wasted bacon :(

[Beso]

Kill them all..and bats

[Ammi]

...I recall watching a great documentary with a scientist at the start of Coronatime...how we the human race have been pushing animals/wildlife out of its natural habitat for many, many years and into more urban areas ...living alongside humans, as it were....and that will mean that animal to human viruses will be more and more prevalent in the future...

[user104658]

...I recall watching a great documentary with a scientist at the start of Coronatime...how we the human race have been pushing animals/wildlife out of its natural habitat for many, many years and into more urban areas ...living alongside humans, as it were....and that will mean that animal to human viruses will be more and more prevalent in the future...

I think it's fairly likely that in maybe 100-years-or-so (assuming we make it that far) they'll have cracked virology and it won't be that much of an issue any more. "Oh you've got a little bit of Ebola, take one of these three times a day for a week."

[Rob!]

Hey...fancy another one?

[JerseyWins]

Starting with Cal-Louise?
:joker:

[Marsh.]

Hey...fancy another one?

:joker:

[Ammi]

I think it's fairly likely that in maybe 100-years-or-so (assuming we make it that far) they'll have cracked virology and it won't be that much of an issue any more. "Oh you've got a little bit of Ebola, take one of these three times a day for a week."

...hmmmmm, I agree to a degree that some will become more commonplace diseases...but I think that the sophistication and complication of them will increase hugely as well ...so maybe it’ll be more that in 100 years time...(..assuming we make it that far...)...regular quarantine times of year become a repeated part of human life...

[user104658]

...hmmmmm, I agree to a degree that some will become more commonplace diseases...but I think that the sophistication and complication of them will increase hugely as well ...so maybe it’ll be more that in 100 years time...(..assuming we make it that far...)...regular quarantine times of year become a repeated part of human life...

Why do you think that though? Though it may seem like it because of the extreme coverage of "confused scientists" we get these days... new viruses are not any more complex or sophisticated than those that have been doing the rounds for hundreds of years. They're just... new.

Anyway to elaborate more - I think there will be advances in anti-viral medications, or perhaps even better in nanotech/synthetic immune systems that mean it won't matter what the virus is, there'll just be a quick and effective "anti-viral procedure" that knocks it on the head. Similar to the huge leap in human health that occured with the development of antibiotics.

They're actually very close to developing working antibiotic nanotech. Which is a good thing because conventional antibiotic resistance is a very real thing and if not solved, within the next 30 years will be producing annual global death rates that make Covid-19 look like a day at the beach :umm2:. The looming catastrophies that everyone has been ignoring for decades, eh :laugh:

[bots]

All virus's mutate over time and the mutation is always progressively less damaging to the host. The mutation that propagates the most is the one that causes the host the least harm, it's simple science. In 20 years time covid 19 will just be another variant of the common cold

[user104658]

All virus's mutate over time and the mutation is always progressively less damaging to the host. The mutation that propagates the most is the one that causes the host the least harm, it's simple science.

ALMOST always, it's true that the virus will tend to evolve towards survivability - which means being able to live in the host for as long as possible without being defeated by the immune system or killing the host (the "perfect virus" is symptomless). Of course, random mutations could always make things worse either "by accident" or by the mutation increasing transmissibility whilst leaving effects the same.

But yes in general viruses become less severe as they adapt to the physiology of the host species.

That's why we keep getting them from animals; these viruses are active in animals with no symptoms at all, but they will at some point in the past have been "new" to the bats/pigs/birds etc. and will have had symptoms and killed a number of them.

In 20 years time covid 19 will just be another variant of the common cold

That depends entirely on how widespread it becomes over the next couple of years. If we do successfully suppress it, it'll stick around in roughly the same form (like SARS, Ebola, etc.) because to adapt it needs to propagate.

[Ammi]

Why do you think that though? Though it may seem like it because of the extreme coverage of "confused scientists" we get these days... new viruses are not any more complex or sophisticated than those that have been doing the rounds for hundreds of years. They're just... new.

Anyway to elaborate more - I think there will be advances in anti-viral medications, or perhaps even better in nanotech/synthetic immune systems that mean it won't matter what the virus is, there'll just be a quick and effective "anti-viral procedure" that knocks it on the head. Similar to the huge leap in human health that occured with the development of antibiotics.

They're actually very close to developing working antibiotic nanotech. Which is a good thing because conventional antibiotic resistance is a very real thing and if not solved, within the next 30 years will be producing annual global death rates that make Covid-19 look like a day at the beach :umm2:. The looming catastrophies that everyone has been ignoring for decades, eh :laugh:


...I guess I just think that as vaccines will get more complicated and sophisticated then so will viruses...like a battle..?...and nature/the environment will always be one step ahead of our scientists...