Virus mix-up by lab could have resulted in pandemic

It's emerged that virulent H5N1 bird flu was sent out by accident from an Austrian lab last year and given to ferrets in the Czech Republic before anyone realised. As well as the risk of it escaping into the wild, the H5N1 got mixed with a human strain, which might have spawned a hybrid that could unleash a pandemic. Last December, the Austrian branch of US vaccine company Baxter sent a batch of ordinary human H3N2 flu, altered so it couldn't replicate, to Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, also in Austria. In February, a lab in the Czech Republic working for Avir alerted Baxter that, unexpectedly, ferrets inoculated with the sample had died. It turned out the sample contained live H5N1, which Baxter uses to make vaccine. The two seem to have been mixed in error.

So urce

I did a search and checked the hose and i didn't see this, sorry to post the 2344356456 and second thread on the subject, but I, like you, would just like to put all the pieces together. Thanks--

I can sense much tighter control on engineered viruses by big bro in the near future.

Being sick is a mindset. EVERYTHING in life is a mindset. If you walk around like charlie brown in a tinfoil hat, then you will never be able to strut around like Shaft.

Write that down.




[edit on 27-4-2009 by drsmooth23]

reply to post by drsmooth23


Just goes to show that human intervention isn't always a good thing and can easily make things worse.

reply to post by LiquidLight


there are stairs to human progression, but the environment (mother earth) in which we live should never be the cost; because i believe we as humans are far to ingenuitive for that

This is bloody typical. How on earth are "professionals" so damn stupid that they mix it up?? Were they freakin' hungover!? Excuse my language, but this pisses me off no end.

The human race, and other species are at severe risk because of their incompetence. If this isn't a conspiracy, then they are just some of the worst scientists to ever live.

Yeah, this was discussed back in February. Here's the thread.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Does make you wonder though. Bird Flu isn't one that can be contracted by humans, from what I understood, unless it was combined with another flu by humans. So ... if bird flu isn't one that can cross species and bird flu is part of this new strain of swine flu ....

Originally posted by Alesanjin
This is bloody typical. How on earth are "professionals" so damn stupid that they mix it up?? Were they freakin' hungover!? Excuse my language, but this pisses me off no end.

The human race, and other species are at severe risk because of their incompetence. If this isn't a conspiracy, then they are just some of the worst scientists to ever live.

Its because we are still HUMAN and HUMAN's will always make mistakes. Just in our field, when we make a mistake it might cost people lives. At your job, the worst thing that might happen, is someone doesn't get their fries with their value meal.

I'm not trying to be condescending, its just situational humor

reply to post by retroviralsounds


Well, you made it sound bad, anyway labrats are no high performers and possibly that is a major cause why companies like Baxter #ed up. Sloppy people in action.






[edit on 2009/4/28 by reugen]