The more important issue hasn't been addressed
Either the media has deliberately sidestepped the real issue concerning the release of the 1957 Influenza virus, or just does not get the real impact. The virus was sent out in ID panels to labs around the world, as is done every year. The panels that are sent have a number of unknown viral samples, and the labs getting them are supposed to treat the samples just as if they were collected from an infected patient. The lab is to use at least BSL2, or BSL3 precautions (Bio Safety Level), and as long as the personnel follow procedures, they will be fine. The reporters, and the CDC making a big deal over the fact that no one is sick, are only sidestepping the real issue.
The story should be focused more on how a virus of known pathogenicity got through almost 5,000 labs around the world, and only one lab located in Canada was able to ID the strain?
The short version on the subject of Influenza subtypes is at the beginning of the flu season, the subtype is found through testing. The strain is given an “H” and an “N” designate. This is used to come up with a vaccine for the season, and the testing continues through the season to watch for any changes or mutations of the virus. The usual “H” designates found are 1 and 3, with the two of them found in the annual vaccine.
The “H2” has not been seen in over 30 years, this being the one that was sent. The H2N2 strain from 1957, also known as the Asian flu, caused a pandemic killing around 4 million people.
This all leads up to the point I am trying to make. After the attack on 9/11, our labs across the nation were supposed to be at the highest security for pathogens. The “H2” Influenza virus certainly falls in this category, as it is highly infective, able to be spread at pandemic proportions, and has an incredibly high mortality rate. The Government has said billions of dollars were spent upgrading the labs across the country, yet not a single one, and the sample was sent to somewhere around 4,000 labs in the US alone, were able to ID the “H2” virus. Forget the “N” designate of the virus, just the fact that no lab has seen a “H2” Influenza virus in over 30 years should automatically make all the bells & whistles go off. If a virus that has a mortality and infection rate that rivals most epidemics doesn’t cause someone in the lab to stop and take notice, what will?
Although the idea of using this type of virus for bioterrorism would be slim, the fact that only one lab in the entire world identified it, and it not even being from the United States, makes us wonder just how well those billions of dollars were spent. Things like this should make everyone wonder just how safe we really are.