Labs told to destroy deadly virus

There are fears the samples could get into the wrong hands
The US government has told more than 3,700 laboratories in 18 countries to destroy potentially lethal influenza samples sent out in testing kits.
The samples are of "Asian flu", which killed between one and four million people in 1957 but disappeared by 1968.

If the virus is not handled properly, "it can easily cause an influenza epidemic", Klaus Stohr of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.

The virus was sent to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

The full list of countries and areas where laboratories received the virus is: Bermuda, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.

Hong Kong radio announced on Wednesday that the virus had been destroyed there.

Because the virus has not been in circulation since 1968, people born after that do not have antibodies against it - and current vaccines do not guard against it.

"If this virus were to infect one person, it would spread very rapidly," Dr Stohr, the WHO's influenza expert, told the BBC.

Terrorism worries

The College of American Pathologists sent out kits containing between October 2004 and February of this year.

On 8 April, the US government asked the body to write to the laboratories affected - of which 61 are outside the US and Canada - telling them to destroy the samples.

WHERE THE VIRUS WENT
Europe: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy
Americas: Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the US
Asia: Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan
Middle East: Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia


Q&A: Asian flu scare

Given the concerns that the virus could be used in bio-terrorism, letters were sent to the laboratories before the mistake was made public.

Dr Stohr said the College of American Pathologists had not violated US regulations, which are now being revised.

The virus - technically known as H2N2 - was classified as Biological Safety Level 2, meaning that it was not considered particularly dangerous.

But the US government agency responsible for classifying viruses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says it was in the process of deciding whether to change the strain's classification when it found out that it had been widely circulated.

The WHO says there is no guarantee that every sample of the virus can be traced and destroyed because some of the laboratories may have sent derivatives of the sample elsewhere.

'Low risk'

But there have been no reports of anyone becoming ill from handling the virus, which the WHO called reassuring.

"The risk is considered to be low... but as long as this is out it is possible laboratory technicians can become infected," Dr Stohr said.

Laboratories use the kits to show they can correctly identify different strains of a virus.

They normally include strains in current or recent circulation.

It is hoped the laboratories will have destroyed the vials by the end of the week.

Why does the US think it has more competent lab technicians than France for example? If the US can have vials of the virus for testing purposes, why can't other nations have it? It's hardly as if all the medical breakthroughs in the last century came from the US. As far as I'm concerned, it's pure arrogance. As if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will destroy their stocks.

well obviously they are not talking about national laboratories that may have it. Obviously other nations can have the virus. The CDC and its equivalent in France probably both already had this virus. What they are doing is asking those small research labs to destroy it, including ones in the US. That way it is only in a few major labs and can be kept in control.

Also, it isn't just the US, the WHO is advising the samples be destroyed.

well obviously they are not talking about national laboratories that may have it. Obviously other nations can have the virus. The CDC and its equivalent in France probably both already had this virus. What they are doing is asking those small research labs to destroy it, including ones in the US. That way it is only in a few major labs and can be kept in control.

Also, it isn't just the US, the WHO is advising the samples be destroyed.

My point, though, is this:

But the US government agency responsible for classifying viruses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says it was in the process of deciding whether to change the strain's classification when it found out that it had been widely circulated.

What gives them the right to decide to reclassify it and then tell these labs to destroy it? The reclassification would only apply in the US. I'm sure that these labs (or the national labs in each country) are capable of reaching their OWN conclusions as regards reclassification.

What gives them the right to decide to reclassify it and then tell these labs to destroy it?

Because the reason other countries had this deadly strain in the first place was due to the fact America accidently sent it out to them. They were meant to send out (relatively) harmless types for some certification program but that Asian Flu one got in their somehow...if theyd not warned anyone millions could have potentially died.

only the US labs should have this deadly strain, i mean, we can rely on the americans not to send out deadly strains to thousands of other labs by mistake...

^Yeah well, obviously It was pretty dumb to send it out, and in an ideal world no countries would be playing around with killer viruses (bet they all are tho) but I think this flu was sent to regular labs not specialised places where the boffins would (hopefully) know how to handle these dangerous types.

Destroying it's the safest thing to do in that situation - plus only 61 of the 3700 labs were outside North America so it is mainly a domestic thing.

Because the reason other countries had this deadly strain in the first place was due to the fact America accidently sent it out to them. They were meant to send out (relatively) harmless types for some certification program but that Asian Flu one got in their somehow...if theyd not warned anyone millions could have potentially died.

It wasn't a mistake though. The labs were supposed to be being sent Asian Flu, which is what they got. It's just US authorities didn't realise they were in the process of reclassifying it. My point, though, is that surely it is the responsibility of individual countries to decide what threat level it poses and whether a specific lab is equipped to deal with it. Just because the US has decided to uprate the threat level doesn't mean it has the right to expect labs in other countries to destroy it.

After all, in the UK labs are given Government certification to deal with these things and I think it's the same in France. If the French Government hasn't certified the lab for dealing with Asian Flu then it shouldn't have got the sample full stop, regardless of US classification levels. If it IS certified to deal with Asian Flu, once again the classification level has nothing to do with it.

If US law says "you can send out level 2 virii", Asian flu is classified as level 2 and the foreign lab is authorised to handle the sample then the US has no right to demand that it be destroyed.