Swine flu virus with pandemic potential found in China, no immediate threat

Researchers in China discovered a new strain of swine flu virus with the potential to trigger a human pandemic, although they said there's no imminent threat. Called G4, it genetically descended from the H1N1 strain, according to a study in the US journal PNAS. It possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans", the authors said.