Labs Urged to Destroy Pandemic Flu Strain

[cal04]

Thousands of scientists were scrambling Tuesday at the urging of global health authorities to destroy vials of a pandemic flu strain sent to labs in 18 countries as part of routine testing.


The rush, urged by the World Health Organization, was sparked by a slim, but real, risk that the samples, could spark a global flu epidemic.

"The risk is relatively low that a lab worker will get sick, but a large number of labs got it and if someone does get infected, the risk of severe illness is high and this virus has shown to be fully transmissible," WHO's influenza chief, Dr. Klaus Stohr, told The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050412/ap_on_he_me/pandemic_flu_labs_1

[HeeBGBz]

1. Great.

Butterfingers!

[achtung_circus]

2. Sent by whom?

and which pandemic strain. I don't see that info in the story. Who thought dissemination would be a good idea?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. The idea was that multiple labs working on a vaccination would increase...

...the chances for creating a successful vaccine against the Avian Flu virus.

IMHO, this article seems to be implying that at least one of the labs suffered some kind of "setback" causing the need to err on the side of safety.

[cal04]

4. Lab Alert over Pandemic Flu Scare/updated

The rush, urged by the World Health Organization, was sparked by a slim, but real, risk that the samples, could spark a global flu epidemic. The vials of virus sent by a U.S. company went to nearly 5,000 labs, mostly in the United States, officials said.

"
It was not immediately clear why the 1957 pandemic strain, which killed between 1 million and 4 million people - was in the proficiency test kits routinely sent to labs. It was a decision that Stohr described as "unwise," and "unfortunate." That particular bug was "an epidemic virus for many years," Stohr said from the U.N. health agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. "The risk is low but things can go wrong as long as these samples are out there and there are some still out there." The 1957 strain has not been included in the flu vaccine since 1968, and anyone born after that date has no immunity to it.

Dr. Nancy Cox, chief of the influenza branch at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said her agency was notified of the situation Friday morning. She also said officials strongly doubt someone deliberately planted the dangerous germ or that this was an act of bioterrorism.

"It wouldn't be a smart way to start a pandemic to send it to laboratories because we have people well trained in biocontainment," she said.Most of the samples were sent starting last year at the request of the College of American Pathologists, which helps labs do proficiency testing. The last shipments were sent out in February. Dr. Jared Schwartz, an official with the pathology college, said a private company, Meridian Bioscience Inc. (VIVO) of Cincinnati, Ohio, is paid to prepare the samples. The firm was told to pick an influenza A sample and chose from its stockpile the deadly 1957 H2N2 strain.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050412/D89E50100.html

[DeepModem Mom]

10. That's FIVE THOUSAND labs, folks, most here in the U.S....

that received these deadly vials of virus.

[Blue Diadem]

5. Sounds to me like some people don't know what the heck they are doing.

Sending what other countries consider a level 3 virus for proficiency tests? Pretty darn scary.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7480239/page/2/

snip:The test kits are used for internal quality control checks to demonstrate that a lab is able to correctly identify viruses or as a way for labs to get certified by the College of American Pathologists.

The kits involve blind samples. The lab then has to correctly identify the pathogen in the vial in order to pass the test. Usually, the influenza virus included in these kits is one that is currently circulating, or at least one that has recently been in circulation.

On March 26, National Microbial Laboratory Canada detected the 1957 pandemic strain in a sample not connected with the test kit. After informing WHO and the CDC of the strange finding, the lab investigated. It informed the U.N. health agency on Friday that it had traced the virus to the test kit.

[Blue Diadem]

6. These samples were mislabeled according to CBC news

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/04/12/flu-vials050412.html

Destroy mislabelled pandemic flu samples, WHO tells labs

Last Updated Tue, 12 Apr 2005 21:22:45 EDT
CBC News


OTTAWA - Canadian scientists were the first to spot a pandemic flu strain that was mistakenly sent to labs in 18 countries, sparking an urgent recall by the WHO on Tuesday.


INDEPTH: Flu



A U.S. company sent mislabelled samples of the H2N2 influenza that triggered a pandemic in 1957 to nearly 5,000 labs worldwide, as part of a routine testing program

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Right. Nice cover story.

[Blue Diadem]

8. Conveniently

mislabeled. :scared:

[NNN0LHI]

9. Avian Flu is playing out. Marburg is playing out.

http://www.foodconsumer.org/777/8/avian_flu_North_Korean_Chicken.shtml

Avian Flu in North Korean Chickens Less Lethal

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=8161648

Marburg Outbreak Not Likely a Global Threat - US

So here is something else (Pandemic Flu Strain On The Loose) for the sci-fi fans to scare themselves shitless with.

Don

[Moderator]

11. kick to combine

[nodehopper]

12. Labs told to destroy killer virus

Health
Labs told to destroy killer virus

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Posted: 12:32 AM EDT (0432 GMT)



(CNN) -- The World Health Organization has told laboratories to immediately destroy samples of a flu virus after a Canadian lab identified it as a strain that triggered a 1957 pandemic.

The order to destroy the vials was sparked by a slim, but real risk that the samples could spark a global flu epidemic.

Five thousand vials of the 1957 strain of the "Asian flu" virus were sent out to more than 3,700 labs in 18 nations from September until early April.

That particular strain killed more than one million people, including about 70,000 in the United States, in a 1957-58 pandemic. Because the virus has not been included in flu vaccines since 1968, anyone born after that would not be immune to that strain.

More here:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/12/flu.recall/index.html

[Pachamama]

13. Thank you Canada...had the "aware" lab folks not identified this danger we

wouldn't even know about this possible threat...

[burrowowl]

14. Will

wonders never cease!
Homo sapiens sapiens ?!?

[lostnfound]

15. Deadly Flu Strain Shipped Worldwide

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47841-2005Apr12.html

A dangerous strain of the flu virus that caused a worldwide pandemic in 1957 was sent to thousands of laboratories in the United States and around the world, triggering a frantic effort to destroy the samples to prevent an outbreak, health officials revealed yesterday.

Because the virus is easily transmitted from person to person and many people have no immunity to it, the discovery has raised alarm that it could cause another deadly pandemic if a laboratory worker became infected, officials said.

As a result, health authorities were urgently working to make sure all samples are destroyed and to closely monitor anyone who may have come into contact with the virus for signs of illness, officials said.

"This virus could cause a pandemic," said Klaus Stohr, the World Health Organization's top flu expert. "We are talking about a fully transmissible human influenza virus to which the majority of the population has no immunity. We are concerned."

Says that a private company, Meridian Bioscience Inc. of Cincinnati, sent the virus samples to about 3,700 laboratories. Wonder if this is yet another government function put in the hands of private companies? Just a thought.

[Erika]

16. Another sign of Bushs failed policies on terrorism

I believe as a child I had that flu. I missed two weeks of school and was given daily shots. I was literally bed ridden.

[Hardrada]

17. My entire 7th grade class and many of the teachers too

were out of commission for at least a week. I had a particularly high fever. I was about the last one to get it and I could see the classrooms get emptier and emptier.

[Erika]

19. I have never had that extreme of a flu since

And the germs are being sent globally?

[Hardrada]

20. I have. I had one in Feb. of 1973

That knocked me out for almost two weeks. Never anything like that since.

[4dsc]

29. Me too

I didn't know what it was called but I was sick too in Feb 73. I puked everything I ate and lost 8 pounds in 3 days.. I remember because I was just a skinny little kid at the time.. Very strange..

[HeeBGBz]

31. I had the flu last year the week before Christmas

It kicked my ass. It was 2 weeks before I felt like anything.

[ChickMagic]

33. Our family had that flu too

The school was closed. Mom and Dad were extremely sick, but they had a newborn to care for. I was sick too and needed help to get up and go to the restroom.

[dxdem]

18. I rarely get a flu shot.

I almost expect it once every couple of years. Kind of like a suprise unpaid vacation.

[thecrow]

21. It never ceases to amaze me what bumbling idiots

we have in charge of the most dangerous things on this earth...
diseases, nuclear weapons and torture come to mind.

Seriously, they have even gotten into the DNA strands of the killer pandemic flu of 1918 which makes this flu look like a sneeze.

Sometimes humans are their own worst enemies.

[grasswire]

22. sure sounds like a story line from "24"

Doesn't it? Where's Jack when we need him??

[Straight Shooter]

23. It just gets more and more bizarre.

"For reasons I don't understand and Meridian doesn't understand, the documentation they had was incorrect," he said, adding that the source of the mislabeling was unclear.

Meridian may have obtained the strain from another company that had misidentified it, he said. Even had Meridian known it was the deadly H2N2 strain, Schwartz said, current federal guidelines would have allowed the company to ship it. He said that neither the college nor the company was aware CDC was considering whether to reclassify the strain as too deadly to ship.

Schwartz said a mechanism is being established to require anyone shipping pathogens to notify the CDC about what strains of virus are involved.

William J. Motto, chairman and chief executive of Meridian Bioscience, said he had no comment last night.

Okay, George W. bush, what's your comment on this potential crisis?

[Oilwellian]

40. Mr. Motto's been busy selling his stock in the company recently

8-Feb-05 10,000 VIVO Sale at $17.7046 per share.
(Proceeds of $177,046)
7-Feb-05 16,500 VIVO Sale at $17.7376 per share.
(Proceeds of $292,670)
4-Feb-05 15,500 VIVO Sale at $17.56 - $17.5965 per share.
(Proceeds of about $272,000)
3-Feb-05 4,000 VIVO Sale at $17.56 per share.
(Proceeds of $70,240)
2-Feb-05 100,000 VIVO Planned Sale
(Estimated proceeds of $1,745,000)
2-Feb-05 14,000 VIVO Sale at $17.56 per share.
(Proceeds of $245,839)
http://biz.yahoo.com/t/86/833.html
http://investor.meridianbioscience.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=...

[Pachamama]

24. Don't be fooled...this was no "Accident"....

Why the hell would such a dangerous virus be sent to about 3700 labs? :eyes:

Don't know about any of you in DU land, but did anyone else contract this flu season this hellish strain that just kept coming back again and again and wouldn't leave? My family was sick for over 7 weeks - have never been sicker in my life and I hadn't had the flu in a decade...

Sheesh, makes one think they want people to get sick, eh?

[zann725]

25. Yeah. also keep thinking about all the "hype" about Bird Flu to

mentally "prep" us. Saddam used biological weapons on his people. How are our current leaders any different? Also, that recent EPA-test to have parents spray pesticides in the home, then videotape the effect of the pesticide on their kids...is just the beginning.

[screembloodymurder]

26. No they want people dead!

I want my Tamiflu and I'm gonna get it...TODAY.

[screembloodymurder]

27. Misidentified in a CIA lab.

Who mis-ID this stuff? How do you put 20 million people at risk and go unnamed. This is bullshit,but if you wanted to lower population growth it's a good place to start.

[DainBramaged]

28. WHY WAS SO MUCH AVAILABLE?

I was just reading this article from the BuzzFlash link, and sit here, in my fifth day of what appears to be a mild flu-like illness, and wonder what the fuck Meridian is doing with this strain (or anyone else for that matter) and to have ENOUGH to send it out to 3700 labs worldwide.

THAT bothers me greatly. This strain hasn't been active since 1968.

Why is it stockpiled?

So far, the only thing I have turned up on the directors (I have searched about) is John A. Kraeutler, a VERY rich old bastard from NJ who was once appointed by Ronnie Raygun to the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee in 1985. And none of them are * Pioneers.

This is very troubling. WTF is the BFEE thinking about? Is this the opening phase of "Christian purification for the end times" courtesy of the CIA?

[screembloodymurder]

30. Notice how they waited until we filed our tax returns.

It must be a Republican purification program. Who has the antidote?

On second thought it could be a Puritan purification program.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

32. Sounds like a cover story to me.....

I bet that the flu strain sent out to the labs was actually the latest Avian Flu version. I also bet that the plan was to have those 3700 labs working overtime in hopes that one of the labs would find a vaccine for Avian Flu. Sounds like one or more of those labs had some sort of problem with the sample they received.

Additionally, the 1957 flu-type only killed a million people...hardly the kind of stuff that would cause the level of concern expressed by Klaus Stohr. After 47 years I doubt seriously that humans would not have developed some level of immunity to this particular 1957 virus.

[doodadem]

34. US Firm May Have Unleashed Deadly Flu Strain

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/041305Z.shtml

"That particular bug was "an epidemic virus for many years," Stohr said from the U.N. health agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. "The risk is low but things can go wrong as long as these samples are out there and there are some still out there."

The 1957 strain has not been included in the flu vaccine since 1968, and anyone born after that date has no immunity to it."

Remember Steven King's, "The Stand"?

[Pachamama]

35. The Stand was one of my favorite King books....

I sure do remember it...remember thinking at the time "Wow, King has an amazing imagination....this could never happen here..."....Right? :shrug:

[Moderator]

36. kick to combine

[Swede]

37. Killer flu "unwisely" ship to thousands of labs unlabeled

The mistake came to light March 25 when the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, identified the virus and alerted Canadian and international officials.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20050413-07142600-bc-flustrain.xml

[slaveplanet]

38. Plausible deniability

May not be this particular strain, but I believe they will float more of these stories to condition the people. These stories provide plausible deniability and a nice long list of patsies. The perfect cover...

[Nothing Without Hope]

39. I JUST POSTED AN UPDATE ON THIS STORY IN A NEW GD THREAD

HERE:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3479258
Title: "Pandemic flu virus "accidentally" shipped worldwide - HOW AND WHY???"

I cited this thread and two others that were posted previously. One of the othe two threads (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3477789) is still the best place for info on the possible insider trading by the Meridian (the company that made the kits) officers.

The new post has excerpts from FOUR stories updating the pandemic flu virus shipment story, including the Guardian UK story I posted as a reply to this thread. This will be huge today - even Fox News is covering how Rep. Markey (D-MA) has written a letter to Chertoff about it (http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/markey_flu.pdf).

[Moderator]

41. kick to combine

[screembloodymurder]

42. Test vial flap reveals shipping hazards ( flu test )

What a coincidence. The same company, American Type Culture Collection, shipped anthrax to Saddam and the 1957 H2N2 flu test.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/health/11399289.htm

"The thousands of deadly flu samples that labs were hastily destroying at the urging of global health officials originated at American Type Culture Collection, according to the college of pathologists."



http://www.progressive.org/0901/anth0498.html

"The American company that provided the most biological materials to Iraq in the 1980s was American Type Culture Collection of Maryland and Virginia, which made seventy shipments of the anthrax-causing germ and other pathogenic agents, according to a 1996 Newsday story."