Detection of new dangerous influenza viruses

A new strain of influenza A virus has just been discovered in bats, although the strain is not yet dangerous to humans, US health officials have said.

The study is important because it finds another animal that could become a source of infection, said Suxiang Tong, director of the US Centers for Disease Control's pathogen source program.

'This is the first time a flu virus has been found in a bat, but this type of virus has not yet endangered people.'

Fruit bats originated in Central and South America.

Influenza A virus was detected in 3 bats out of 316 golden shoulder bats caught at 2 different locations in Guatemala. This fruit bat comes from Central and South America.

Previous pandemics, such as the 2009 H1N1 epidemic, are also called swine flu, which are derived from animals that later transform to infect humans. Fortunately, laboratory tests show that the newly discovered virus undergoes a number of significant changes that can infect people.