New virus with pandemic potential found in China even as Covid-19 reigns worldwide

Even as Coronavirus cases are on a rise worldwide, on Tuesday, a new strain of flu has been identified in China by scientists, as per reports. Scientists say that virus is carried by pigs, but can infect humans and has potential to become a pandemic.  new flu strain is similar to 2009 swine flu, but with some new changes. Called as G4 EA H1N1, scientists say that available flu vaccine might t be able to provide immunity from virus. Writing in  journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, scientists opined that measures should be taken to control virus swine industry must be monitored. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

China has been facing worldwide criticism after outbreak of vel Coronavirus which has so far claimed 508,084 lives and 10,409,239 people have been infected. It is under scanner for hiding outbreak of COVID-19, with some reports suggesting that infection related to virus may have started as early as in August in China.

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Ar report by US media suggested that COVID-19 virus might have leaked from lab in Wuhan. It claimed that initial transmission of virus was bat-to-human and "patient zero" worked at laboratory where it was being studied - Wuhan Institute of Virology. United States has also called for an investigation on outbreak of virus and has pulled out ir funding from World Health Organisation (WHO) for siding with China. 

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China delayed releasing info on COVID-19

Even as World Health Organization throughout January, publicly praised China for what it called a speedy response to new coronavirus, news ncy AP reported that China significantly delayed release of information about virus.

China sat on releasing genetic map, or geme, of virus for more than a week after three different government labs had fully decoded information. Tight controls on information and competition within Chinese public health system were to blame, according to dozens of interviews and internal documents, as per AP report. Chinese government labs only released geme after ar lab published it ahead of authorities on a virologist website on January 11. Even n, China stalled for at least two weeks more on providing WHO with detailed data on patients and cases.

However, siding with Chinese, WHO had said thanked Xi Jinping government for sharing genetic map of virus “immediately,” and said its work and commitment to transparency were “very impressive, and beyond words.” 123 nations, however, have forced China to concede and allow a probe into Covid's origin.

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