Viruses Loose!!

Deward · Post by **Deward** » April 13, 2005, 3:42 pm

Check out the following article on CNN. Some dumbasses sent a highly infectious strain of flu virus to several thousand different labs around the world. What worries me is that one of the labs was in Lebanon. What the fuck are we doing sending a ANY virus to fricking Lebanon. I can just picture those drooling terrorists getting a hold of it and jumping a few planes around the world.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/13/fl ... index.html

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » April 13, 2005, 7:48 pm

Maybe to see if they are able to develop something to fight it?

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 14, 2005, 9:58 am

H2N2 Type A would be worthless as a weapons virus for terrorists. It would be far more lethal in the third world than in the US or other terror targets...

It was sent to viral labs worldwide as part of a routine flu typing program, testing the ability of those labs to ID flu type. The routine precautions in place at such labs should be sufficient to prevent it getting wild, though the CDC and WHO upped the precaution levels for this one's handling to level 3.

So ya know...no biggie really...

Why send ANY virus to Lebanon?...Ermmmm because viruses identified early and remotely do not spread and/or if they do, the WHO and CDC have ample warning to type and strain...

Deward · Post by **Deward** » April 14, 2005, 10:32 am

I know it was for testing but I still wouldn't allow a virus to be sent to Lebanon. I wouldn't put it past terrorists to break into the lab to steal it or one of the lab technicians to sell it.

It may not do as much damage as it did in the 50s in the US but it would still cause deaths, especially in congested cities like New York. It could also be used to attack America's allies. Canada could be hit hard by it. By the time they had a chance to see a doctor they would be dead. They could hit Israel pretty bad...hrmm maybe that isn't a bad thing.

Either way I think it was a pretty stupid mistake to send it out. And I still think that sort of thing should not be sent to countries like Lebanon.

Morgrym · Post by **Morgrym** » April 14, 2005, 10:42 am

Anyone else thinking, "The Stand"?

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » April 14, 2005, 10:54 am

Deward wrote:Canada could be hit hard by it. By the time they had a chance to see a doctor they would be dead.

What do you base that on? Canada has 1.8 doctors / 1000 people, US 2.56

Not that big a disparity when you're talking about pandemic care..

Besides, Doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the US =)

http://www.healingdaily.com/Doctors-Are ... the-US.htm

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 14, 2005, 11:20 am

Deward wrote:I know it was for testing but I still wouldn't allow a virus to be sent to Lebanon.

That's because you know all of dick about virology and epidemiology. Get a clue about how disease processes work or just continue running about like chicken little every time you hear the word virus.

And I wouldn't worry too much about Canada...they nicely contained a potential pandemic when SARS hit and had entirely adequate influenza vaccine for their populace this fall...unlike some other countries...

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » April 14, 2005, 11:34 am

I am willing to bet, any biological agents terrorists are more likely to get will be taken directly out of a US lab then one overseas, so I am more worried about places like Livermore where 5 data CD's a month is the average

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » April 14, 2005, 11:39 am

Deward wrote:Canada could be hit hard by it. By the time they had a chance to see a doctor they would be dead.

Yes because everyone in Canada is incompetent.

Thanks Arb for pointing out the SARS thing, at least some people pay attention.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » April 14, 2005, 3:03 pm

Lynks wrote:Yes because everyone in Canada is incompetent.

Yeah but you have to remember it was cross contamination (a serious fuck up) in a Vancouver lab that found it. That it was discovered is a good thing, but it still happened because someone (in Canada

) screwed up.

The thing I don't understand, after watching a report on this last night, is why there is a differeing standard in the classification of these viruses. This bug was what US considers a class 2 while Canada considers this a class 3. I would thought, especially as they do send the samples across international borders, that they would have a uniform standard for classifying these things, similar to the UN designations for transpotation of other dangerous goods. Not like shit like diesel or gasoline is more dangerous than some of this stuff...

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » April 14, 2005, 7:07 pm

Wulfran wrote:The thing I don't understand, after watching a report on this last night, is why there is a differeing standard in the classification of these viruses. This bug was what US considers a class 2 while Canada considers this a class 3. I would thought, especially as they do send the samples across international borders, that they would have a uniform standard for classifying these things, similar to the UN designations for transpotation of other dangerous goods.

They do have a uniform standard set by the WHO, 1 being minimal precautions 4 being full precautions. The WHO seems to have reclassified this virus mid-incident, Influenza (all strains) was type 2, so this particular strain doesn't get loose.

While cross contamination in lab is a screw-up in terms of the testing (though they were probably running multiple passes) it isn't a situation which results in release of active virus usually.

Post by **pyrella** » April 14, 2005, 7:42 pm

virii

sheeps

gooses

Lohrno · Post by **Lohrno** » April 14, 2005, 7:46 pm

Morgrym wrote:Anyone else thinking, "The Stand"?

Yup...I'm going to start on my way to vegas now.

Drinsic Darkwood · Post by **Drinsic Darkwood** » April 14, 2005, 8:33 pm

Flagg for prez

Moonwynd · Post by **Moonwynd** » April 14, 2005, 9:38 pm

What's worse...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7505545/

They shipped the stuff via FedEx and DHL...

wtf?

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » April 14, 2005, 11:19 pm

Brown helped me deliver Death over three times faster than Fed Ex! That's why I ship all my virii over UPS.

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » April 15, 2005, 4:59 pm

ups would have caused an outbreak when the pickoff launched the virus off the conveyor from 20 feet above the ground for laughs.

Lohrno · Post by **Lohrno** » April 15, 2005, 5:54 pm

Drinsic Darkwood wrote:Flagg for prez

Are you sure he already isn't?

nobody · Post by **nobody** » April 16, 2005, 6:57 pm

http://www.suntimes.com/output/health/c ... flu16.html

April 16, 2005

GENEVA -- Shipments of a killer influenza virus destined for testing in Mexico and Lebanon remain unaccounted for, but the U.N. health organization said 15 other countries that received the samples were expected to have destroyed them by today.

The virus was sent in testing kits to 18 countries starting last year at the request of the College of American Pathologists, which helps labs conduct proficiency testing.

Ten countries -- Hong Kong, Belgium, Singapore, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan -- have destroyed the H2N2 virus, a strain of ''Asian flu'' that killed between 1 million and 4 million people in 1957.

i guess they've been missing since October according to some other news reports i've read. supposedly they never made it to the labs in the first place. So i guess it WAS UPS.

hrmm, now where did i put that vial of deadly flu viriiiii?

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » April 16, 2005, 7:06 pm

I believe the scientific term for this is a "whoopsie".

Tyek · Post by **Tyek** » April 17, 2005, 5:20 pm

If this stuff is worse then what I have now, we are screwed. I have slept the better part of 3 days, including 17 straight hours. I have lost 10 pounds and I can hardly sit long enough to sit and type this. In fact I am going back to bed.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 17, 2005, 6:45 pm

kyoukan is canada's seekrit biological weapon. Code name: Oozing puss.

So far, only the husky population is at risk.