Baxter admits contaminated seasonal flu product contained live bird flu virus

[Celebration]

Gives you a lot of confidence, doesn't it?

:sarcasm:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iV_RT6oBK3tOhtsWf5pnu5OIby9w

The company that released contaminated flu virus material from a plant in Austria confirmed Friday that the experimental product contained live H5N1 avian flu viruses.

...........snip..........................

The contaminated product, a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses and unlabelled H5N1 viruses, was supplied to an Austrian research company. The Austrian firm, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then sent portions of it to sub-contractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany.

The contamination incident, which is being investigated by the four European countries, came to light when the subcontractor in the Czech Republic inoculated ferrets with the product and they died. Ferrets shouldn't die from exposure to human H3N2 flu viruses.

............snip............................

The contaminated product, which Baxter calls "experimental virus material," was made at the Orth-Donau research facility. Baxter makes its flu vaccine - including a human H5N1 vaccine for which a licence is expected shortly - at a facility in the Czech Republic.

People familiar with biosecurity rules are dismayed by evidence that human H3N2 and avian H5N1 viruses somehow co-mingled in the Orth-Donau facility. That is a dangerous practice that should not be allowed to happen, a number of experts insisted.

[marketcrazy1]

1. combining these two strains is EXTREMELY

dangerous but what would be even worse is to actually administer the co mingled vaccine to a person. if that were to happen!!! I shudder to think....

[Celebration]

2. I guess we can be glad for dead ferrets

Honestly, this absolutely boggles the mind.

[uppityperson]

3. messing around with viruses, "let's try mixing these and see what happens", is appalling to me

I know there are companies and labs that do that sort of experimental work, but good gods, the potential for harm amazes me.

[Celebration]

4. Frankly, the only logical explanation

seems that *someone* at Baxter did this purposefully. How could that particular mixture, that shouldn't have been mixed anyway, under any cirumstances, get in friggin' regular flu vaccines for people?

Somebody sure better be trying to figure this one out!!

And why isn't our media reporting this story?

[Hannah Bell]

5. yep. violation of every conceivable manufacturing & research standard.

shouldn't even have been in the same facility.

so we should wonder why.

another reason not to get your flu shots.

[trotsky]

6. Maybe it was an anti-vaccination terrorist.

I mean, as long as we're throwing around totally unsupported allegations.

[mzmolly]

7. Can you say "bird flu vaccine"?

I knew you could. ;)

[uppityperson]

8. I miss Fred Rogers. He was such a gentle sweet soul.