ctvnews | 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.
And an official of the World Health Organization's European
operation said the body is closely monitoring the investigation into the
events that took place at Baxter International's research facility in
Orth-Donau, Austria.
"At this juncture we are confident in saying that public health
and occupational risk is minimal at present," medical officer Roberta
Andraghetti said from Copenhagen, Denmark.
"But what remains unanswered are the circumstances surrounding the incident in the Baxter facility in Orth-Donau."
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.
Public health authorities concerned about what has been described
as a "serious error" on Baxter's part have assumed the death of the
ferrets meant the H5N1 virus in the product was live. But the company,
Baxter International Inc., has been parsimonious about the amount of
information it has released about the event.
On Friday, the company's director of global bioscience communications confirmed what scientists have suspected.
"It was live," Christopher Bona said in an email.
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.
Accidental release of a mixture of live H5N1 and H3N2 viruses could have resulted in dire consequences.
