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Baxter’s Vaccine Research Sent Bird Flu Across European Labs
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SiamSenior ModeratorJoined: 05 Apr 2006Posts: 13712Location: BC Canada
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:03 am Post subject: Baxter’s Vaccine Research Sent Bird Flu Across European Labs
Pixie Baxter’s Vaccine Research Sent Bird Flu Across European Labs By Michelle Fay Cortez and Jason Gale Last Updated: February 24, 2009 09:28 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aiqmSoL6sVbk&refer=industries Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Researchers from Baxter International Inc. in Austria unintentionally sent samples contaminated with the bird flu virus to laboratories in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany, raising concern about the potential spread of the deadly disease. The contamination was discovered after ferrets were injected with the vaccine, according to BioTest s.r.o, a biotechnology company based in Konarovice that was working with the immunization in the Czech Republic. The vaccine came from Deerfield, Illinois-based Baxter, which reported the incident to the Austrian Ministry of Health, Sigrid Rosenberger, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said in a telephone interview today. The vaccine was prepared for use in laboratories, and none of the workers exposed have fallen ill. “This was infected with a bird flu virus,” Rosenberger said. “There were some people from the company who handled it. They went to the hospital and were tested and were cleared. There have been no infections.” The Austrian health ministry reported the incident to the European Union and plans to conduct its own audit, she said. The vaccine has been destroyed, according to Rosenberger. Chris Bona and Laura Grossmann, Baxter spokespeople, didn’t immediately return phone calls placed before business hours. Roland Bettschart, who handles media enquiries for Baxter in Vienna, said a “laboratory glitch” occurred and the company would send a formal statement soon. The World Health Organization “is aware of the situation and is consulting with the ministers of health of the countries involved to ensure that all public risks arising from this event have been identified and managed appropriately,” said Gregory Hartl, a spokesman in Geneva. The European Medicines Agency has no immediate comment, said Monika Benstetter, an agency spokeswoman. Flu Pandemic The H5N1 strain of avian flu has been monitored by health officials around the world for more than a decade for signs it could mutate into a form that is easily spread between humans. Currently, it passes mainly between infected poultry. A flu pandemic of avian or other origin could kill more than 70 million people worldwide and lead to a “major global recession” costing more than $3 trillion, according to a worst-case scenario outlined by the World Bank in October. H5N1 has infected at least 406 people in 15 countries since 2003, killing 63 percent of them, according to the Web site of the Geneva-based WHO. Baxter, the world’s largest maker of blood-disease treatments, is one of the companies working on a vaccine to be used in the event of a flu pandemic. The European Medicines Agency recommended approval of Baxter’s Celvapan, the first cell culture-based vaccine for bird flu in Europe, in December. Lab Escape BioTest, which conducts research for Baxter, was “supposed to get non-infected testing vaccine, which was by mistake of the supplier contaminated with the H5N1 virus,” the company said in a statement last week. “If there had not been a mistake on the part of the supplier, the bird flu virus would not get into the Czech Republic in this way.” Three influenza pandemics, including the 1918 Spanish flu that killed more than 50 million people, occurred since 1900. Another three pandemic threats -- situations where a global epidemic is close to occurring -- have taken place. One of them, the Russian flu of 1977, is thought to have been caused by the virus escaping from a lab, according to an article on influenza pandemics published in the Scottish Medical Journal in February 2008. The H5N1 virus, “even if it were let out of the lab, would be only lethal for birds in its present state,” said Ilaria Capua, a veterinary virologist, whose laboratory in Padova, Italy, handles some of the avian-flu screening for the World Organization for Animal Health. Capua said she has no knowledge of the situation. “In Europe, we can react fast” to outbreaks of the disease in animals, she said. To contact the reporters on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in London at mcortez@bloomberg.netJason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net_________________Watch what they are doing, not what they say.
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SiamSenior ModeratorJoined: 05 Apr 2006Posts: 13712Location: BC Canada
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:07 am Post subject:
Helblindi http://www.pr-inside.com/de/mitarbeiter-eines-tschechisch-r1073187.htm 13 employees of a Czech laboratory for a week unnoticed H5N1 viruses suspended - Puzzling connection to a similar case in Austria. (PR-inside.com 22.02.2009 15:57:23) - A supply of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus vaccine contaminated of Austria to the Czech Republic provides for risks of 13 laboratory staff. At the same time, 18 employees of an Austrian pharmaceutical laboratories in Vienna Otto Wagner Spital against "bird flu" theme. Czech media reports that it came in a laboratory of the 70 km east of Prague situated Biotest Ltd. in Konarovice in a serious incident by highly pathogenic H5N1 virus contaminated vaccine. According to the Scientific Forum Avian Influenza (WAI) the information the incident took place already on 06 February this year. im The experimental vaccine was on 30.01.2009 by Avir Green Hills Biotechnology GmbH. Behalf of the pharmaceutical company Baxter Vienna to the laboratory of Biotest Ltd. has been delivered in the Czech Republic, where in this animal to be tested ferrets. As part of the animal in the ferrets began to show symptoms and some of the animals died, was from Austria delivered vaccine investigated and any contamination with hazardous for human-pathogen avian flu H5N1 found. 13 laboratories of Biotest Ltd employees. which over a period of approximately one week as part of their work contact with the highly pathogenic agents were preventive antiviral drugs. For an infection of the laboratory staff did not seem fortunately. So far unexplained is the relationship of the laboratory incident in the Czech Republic to a report of the Press and Information Service of the City of Vienna 11.02. in which it is stated that the Vienna Otto Wagner Hospital, Citation: 18 employees of an outside company out-patients [were], because the moment could not be excluded that in the context of their work with a bird flu pathogen had been in contact ' According to the WAI arises, however, may be a causal link with a simultaneously taking place in Vienna Phase I study of an H5N1 vaccine live in the Austrian pharmaceutical company Baxter, under which a designed as a nasal spray bird flu vaccine tested on humans. Whether the contamination of the vaccines actually in human phase I study in Vienna effect is unclear, but it would plausible to explain why at 11.02. - Five days after a laboratory accident by contaminated vaccine in the Czech Republic - Austria Vienna in 18 people in the Otto-Wagner-Spital preventively against H5N1 should be treated. Although the laboratory incident is now the Biological Hazard from EDIS 'Emergency and Disaster Services), under the name BH-20090217-20552-CZE is listed, Baxter had been no public opinion forced. The Science Forum avian influenza, therefore, strongly urges a full and detailed disclosure of the circumstances for which a vaccine contamination with highly pathogenic agents have led. Already in 2004 there was a contamination of vaccines. The pharmaceutical manufacturer Chiron (now part of Switzerland's Novartis AG) had 46 million doses of Fluvirin flu vaccine due to bacterial contamination must be destroyed._________________Watch what they are doing, not what they say.
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SiamSenior ModeratorJoined: 05 Apr 2006Posts: 13712Location: BC Canada
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:23 am Post subject:
Pixie Officials investigate how bird flu viruses were sent to unsuspecting labs 2 hours ago Canadian Press http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jJ4CmDnp1pP1ZqHShBeayzTuzsEA Officials are trying to get to the bottom of how vaccine manufacturer Baxter International Inc. made "experimental virus material" based on a human flu strain but contaminated with the H5N1 avian flu virus and then distributed it to an Austrian company. That company, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then disseminated the supposed H3N2 virus product to subcontractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany. Authorities in the four European countries are looking into the incident, and their efforts are being closely watched by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Control. Though it appears none of the 36 or 37 people who were exposed to the contaminated product became infected, the incident is being described as "a serious error" on the part of Baxter, which is on the brink of securing a European licence for an H5N1 vaccine. That vaccine is made at a different facility, in the Czech Republic. "For this particular incident ... the horse did not get out (of the barn)," Dr. Angus Nicoll of the ECDC said from Stockholm. "But that doesn't mean that we and WHO and the European Commission and the others aren't taking it as seriously as you would any laboratory accident with dangerous pathogens - which you have here." Accidental release of a mixture of live H5N1 and H3N2 viruses - if that indeed happened - could have resulted in dire consequences. Nicoll said officials still aren't 100 per cent sure the mixture contained live H5N1 viruses. But given that ferrets exposed to the mixture died, it likely did. H5N1 doesn't easily infect people, but H3N2 viruses do. They are one of two types of influenza A viruses that infect people each flu season. If someone exposed to the mixture had been co-infected with H5N1 and H3N2, the person could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people. That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created. Research published last summer by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that in the laboratory, H5N1 and H3N2 viruses mated readily. While less virulent than H5N1, a number of the offspring viruses appeared to retain at least a portion of the killing power of their dangerous parent. Baxter International, which is based in Deerfield, Ill., said the contamination was the result of an error in its research facility in Orth-Donau, Austria. The facility had been contracted by Avir Green Hills to make what Baxter refers to as "experimental virus material" based on human H3N2 viruses. Christopher Bona, Baxter's director of global bioscience communications, said the liquid virus product was not a vaccine and was developed for testing purposes only. He deferred questions about the purpose of the testing to Avir Green Hills, but said the batch was to be used in animals and was never intended for use in humans. Avir Green Hills said in an email that it took possession of the material in late December. It later sent the product to the sub-contractors. The email said the material was stored and handled throughout under high biosafety conditions. Alarm bells rang in early February when researchers at the Czech sub-contractor inoculated ferrets with the material and the animals promptly died. Baxter learned about the problem on Feb. 6, Bona said from Deerfield. Ferrets are susceptible to human flu strains, but they don't die from those infections. Preliminary investigation found the material was contaminated with H5N1 flu virus, which is lethal to ferrets. Nicoll said the fact the ferrets died supports the working assumption that there were live H5N1 viruses in the material Baxter produced. Bona said Baxter has identified how the contamination happened and has taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. He said Austrian authorities audited Baxter's Orth-Donau research operations after the problem came to light and are satisfied with the steps taken. Baxter is the only flu vaccine manufacturer to work with wild type flu viruses, felt to be more dangerous than the altered and attenuated (weakened) viruses other manufacturers use. The company uses what is known as BSL3 level precautions in all its vaccine research facilities, Bona said. (Researchers at the U.S. CDC use BSL3-plus biocontainment when working with H5N1 viruses, a spokesperson for the agency said.) People familiar with biosecurity rules are dismayed by evidence that human H3N2 and avian H5N1 viruses have somehow co-mingled in the Baxter research facility. That should not be allowed to happen, a number of experts insisted. The company isn't shedding much light on how it did. "It was a combination of just the process itself, (and) technical and human error in this procedure," Bona said. When asked to elaborate, he said to do so would give away proprietary information about Baxter's production process. Bona said when Baxter realized its error, it helped the various companies destroy the contaminated material and clean up their facilities. And staff who had been exposed to the contaminated product were assessed and monitored by infectious diseases doctors. They were also offered the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Baxter's error is reminiscent of a 2005 incident where a U.S. manufacturer of kits used by laboratories to test their detection capabilities included vials of H2N2 virus in several thousand proficiency kits. H2N2, the virus that caused the 1957 pandemic, has not circulated since 1968 and is thought to be a prime candidate to cause the next pandemic. That mistake, discovered by Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory, set authorities around the world scrambling to retrieve and destroy the vials of virus, which had been sent to labs in 18 countries._________________Watch what they are doing, not what they say.
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CornV.I.P.Joined: 08 Jun 2006Posts: 3420Location: Funny Farm
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:38 pm Post subject:
Baxter: Product contained live bird flu virusBy Helen Branswell, THE CANADIAN PRESS Last Updated: 27th February 2009, 3:26pm 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. While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people. That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created. There is no suggestion that happened because of this accident, however. “We have no evidence of any reassortment, that any reassortment may have occurred,” said Andraghetti. “And we have no evidence of any increased transmissibility of the viruses that were involved in the experiment with the ferrets in the Czech Republic.” Baxter hasn’t shed much light — at least not publicly — on how the accident happened. Earlier this week Bona called the mistake the result of a combination of “just the process itself, (and) technical and human error in this procedure.” He said he couldn’t reveal more information because it would give away proprietary information about Baxter’s production process. Andraghetti said Friday the four investigating governments are co-operating closely with the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Control in Stockholm, Sweden. “We are in very close contact with Austrian authorities to understand what the circumstances of the incident in their laboratory were,” she said. “And the reason for us wishing to know what has happened is to prevent similar events in the future and to share lessons that can be learned from this event with others to prevent similar events. ... This is very important.” http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/02/27/8560781.html
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CornV.I.P.Joined: 08 Jun 2006Posts: 3420Location: Funny Farm
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 4:54 pm Post subject:
ironorehopper @ FT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LifeGen.de - Exclusive Interview: Baxter explaining what really happened with H5N1 samples in Europe Exclusive Interview: Baxter explaining what really happened with H5N1 samples in Europe Since we started our coverage of the Baxter-Contamination Story in Europe shares of the big pharmaceutical company in Deerfield, IL have lost more more than 8 percent in two days, as a look at Google Finance reveals. Baxter's Chief of Communications in the US, Christopher Bona, supported our idea for an exclusive interview, so Jutta Brenn-Vogt, Manager Communications at Baxter Deutschland GmbH explained LifeGen.de what really happened with H5N1, and how security measures - not only at Baxter - should work on a global scale. LifeGen.de: How and when did Baxter find out about the contamination? Brenn-Vogt: A suspicion concerning a potential contamination arose at AVIR Greenhills' contracted lab in the Czech Republic during the late afternoon of Friday, February 6. Baxter was then notified by AVIR Greenhills about this situation in three locations (Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria) during the early evening of Friday, February 6. The last notification was on February 17 from AVIR Greenhills regarding a laboratory in Germany. LifeGen.de: Promed mentions H5N1 and/or H3N2 as contaminants. Could you describe us what exactly happened to the charges? Brenn-Vogt: Firstly, the material that was contaminated with H5N1 was not a vaccine, but was an experimental virus material. The impacted material was made at Baxter’s facility in Orth, Austria. It was produced exclusively for laboratory testing for AVIR Greenhills. It was not used for product production or for use in humans. The root cause of the incident has been identified. It was due to a unique combination of process, technical and human error in a procedure used for this specific research project in our facility in Austria (Orth). The chances of such a confluence of events repeating itself are virtually impossible. Cross-contamination of commercial product, clinical material or other experimental material has been absolutely excluded. The public health authorities in Austria performed an audit at Baxter’s research facility in Austria and Baxter’s corrective and preventative actions were found appropriate by the auditors. The contamination occurred only during the process for this specific research project for AVIR Greenhills in Baxter’s facility. The employees who may have been exposed to this material have gone through a specific examination by infectious disease specialists. These people were tested or considered by disease specialists not to be at risk. The results of all performed tests were negative. LifeGen.de: Baxter is handling H5N1 in BSL3 labs. Where is the security lack of the system? In other words: How could the charges get in European 4 countries without intention? Brenn-Vogt: As this material was not produced for human use, testing for potential contamination is not routinely carried out. Baxter sent this material to AVIR Greenhills in Austria, they, in turn, reported to us later that they sent it to four labs with whom they contract. As explained above, this was not the result of a lack of security but it was due to a unique combination of process, technical and human error in a procedure used for this specific research project. LifeGen.de: Do you think smaller companies like Avir Green Hills Biotechnology should handle Baxter's charges? Brenn-Vogt: Baxter is contracted to provide influenza virus material to AVIR Greenhills for that company's use in developing their influenza vaccine. In this case, Baxter produced one component of the influenza vaccine. The individuals working with the experimental material were operating in laboratory containment conditions specifically designed to prevent exposure. We see no need to speculate on how the size of a lab had bearing on this incident. LifeGen.de: After the Antrhrax mailings in 2001, which is no Baxter related case, but not less risky, this is the second virological contamination starting directly from the US. How will Baxter prevent future accidents like the one in Europe for the future? Brenn-Vogt: Exposure was highly unlikely -- the individuals working with the experimental material were operating in laboratory containment conditions specifically designed to prevent exposure. All H5N1 infections that have been reported to date have been associated with direct exposure to infected poultry/birds. As mentioned above, this incident originated in Austria, not the US. The circumstances of the contamination were a unique combination of process, technical and human errors. Cross-contamination of commercial product, clinical material or other experimental material has been absolutely excluded. The public health authorities in Austria performed an audit at Baxter’s research facility in Austria (Feb. 16) and Baxter’s corrective and preventative actions were found appropriate by the auditors. The contamination occurred only during the process for this specific research project for AVIR Greenhills in Baxter’s facility. Further details about the process will not be discussed as it is proprietary information. LifeGen.de: Will the contamination in Europe lead to management changes in your company? Brenn-Vogt: No. questions by Vlad Georgescu snip< (GENIOS)(2009-03-02) http://www.lifegen.de/newsip/shownews.php4?getnews=2009-03-02-2412&pc=s02
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ludlowsurvivorsAdvanced MemberJoined: 18 Oct 2006Posts: 909Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:50 pm Post subject:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/02/27/8560781.html News Canada Baxter: Product contained live bird flu virus By Helen Branswell, THE CANADIAN PRESS Last Updated: 27th February 2009, 3:26pm Email Story Print Size A A A Report Typo Share with: Facebook Digg Del.icio.us Google Stumble Upon Newsvine Reddit Technorati Feed Me Yahoo Ma.gnolia Simpy Squidoo Spurl Blogmarks Netvouz Scuttle Co.mments Sitejot + What are these? 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. While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people. That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created. There is no suggestion that happened because of this accident, however. “We have no evidence of any reassortment, that any reassortment may have occurred,” said Andraghetti. “And we have no evidence of any increased transmissibility of the viruses that were involved in the experiment with the ferrets in the Czech Republic.” Baxter hasn’t shed much light — at least not publicly — on how the accident happened. Earlier this week Bona called the mistake the result of a combination of “just the process itself, (and) technical and human error in this procedure.” He said he couldn’t reveal more information because it would give away proprietary information about Baxter’s production process. Andraghetti said Friday the four investigating governments are co-operating closely with the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Control in Stockholm, Sweden. “We are in very close contact with Austrian authorities to understand what the circumstances of the incident in their laboratory were,” she said. “And the reason for us wishing to know what has happened is to prevent similar events in the future and to share lessons that can be learned from this event with others to prevent similar events. ... This is very important.”_________________www.ludlowsurvivors.com Let's keep it realistic if we want others to come on board. Because I have a different opinion on things it doesn't mean I'm wrong and you are right. Denial, it's a defence mechanism
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ludlowsurvivorsAdvanced MemberJoined: 18 Oct 2006Posts: 909Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:53 pm Post subject:
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:6545804408059::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,76322 Archive Number 20090226.0801 Published Date 26-FEB-2009 Subject PRO/AH> Avian influenza, accidental distribution - Czech Rep. ex Austria (02) AVIAN INFLUENZA, ACCIDENTAL DISTRIBUTION - CZECH REPUBLIC ex AUSTRIA (02) *********************************************** A ProMED-mail post
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ludlowsurvivorsAdvanced MemberJoined: 18 Oct 2006Posts: 909Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:55 pm Post subject:
http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/02/baxter_bird_flu_botch.php Baxter bird flu botch Category: Big Pharma • Bird flu • Vaccines Posted on: February 28, 2009 7:04 AM, by revere In a post the other day on some kind of flu vaccine mishap in Austria we called it a colossal screw-up. It turns out we may have understated the case. Maybe. Because while more details are leaking out, the company responsible for it, Baxter International, isn't saying exactly what happened on the grounds that it is confidential business information. You almost have to admire that kind of arrogance. Almost. Meanwhile Helen Branswell brings us more details: 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. [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. (Helen Branswell, Canadian Press, via The Sun) One of the big fears is that people or animals co-infected with a seasonal flu virus of humans and a virulent avian flu virus like H5N1 will act as a mixing vessel. Flu viruses each have eight genetic packages within them and when co-infecting a cell they can mix and match (reassortment), thus producing new hybrid bird-human viruses. Baxter put both viruses in the same vial, presumably for use as a vaccine. Baxter is calling the mixture an "experimental virus material," whatever that is. All we know is that a nasty live virus cocktail of human and bird influenza virus was made (Baxter says accidentally). Exactly to whom it was given, if anyone, is not being publicly divulged. We have a news report from an Austrian paper dated February 11, a Wednesday, that tells of 19 people being seen as outpatients at a Vienna hospital the previous Monday (February 9) because of exposure to "bird flu virus." The article said no one was sick, there was no evidence of infection, and the females were prophylaxed with antivirals (presumably Tamiflu). WHO's European regional office in Copenhagen is saying they are confident there is no public or occupational health risk "at present," but they also acknowledge they don't know exactly what happened. They also say they do not any evidence that any reassortment occurred. I'm not sure exactly what evidence they looked at or have available, so I don't know how to interpret this absence of evidence. I'm certainly not reassured that unlabeled live H5N1 virus was released, even if just to another lab. There are people and animals in laboratories that were exposed and could have resulted in the virus getting into the general community in a major city with many international links. Baxter's not saying much. Branswell quotes a company spokesperson as saying the incident happened through a combination of “just the process itself, (and) technical and human error in this procedure.” This doesn't sound very reassuring, either, because it sounds like there is a process that is error prone ("technical" and human). If Baxter's name sounds familiar it may be because almost exactly a year ago they were in the news over a series of fatal allergic reactions among dialysis patients who used the blood thinner heparin they manufactured. It turned out their heparin came from China and contained an adulterant, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. Patients in six countries and over a dozen states in the US had serious adverse reactions and more than 80 deaths. At the time, Baxter said on their website that they "will not sell another vial of heparin until the company has helped to create a system in which the quality and safety of heparin is secured." (Medpage Today) They weren't saying anything about the safety of their bird flu products, then. And not much now, either._________________www.ludlowsurvivors.com Let's keep it realistic if we want others to come on board. Because I have a different opinion on things it doesn't mean I'm wrong and you are right. Denial, it's a defence mechanism
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CornV.I.P.Joined: 08 Jun 2006Posts: 3420Location: Funny Farm
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:12 pm Post subject:
Logically it stands to reason that if humans attempt to get us out of the flu they can also get us into the flu. Mathematical equals. GSGS could probably figure the stats on that. I guess using the same reasoning as why plans crash or trains and cars wreck, etc. Let's see. How many bio labs in the world, public and secret? How many employees? How many different human threatening viruses are they trying to understand and minipulate? Don't even add religious theology of employees. Thank god most scientist are atheist. nevermind................................... We are in races to find cures before we kill ourselves through experimentation.
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ludlowsurvivorsAdvanced MemberJoined: 18 Oct 2006Posts: 909Location: United Kingdom
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:16 pm Post subject:
Quote:
Logically it stands to reason that if humans attempt to get us out of the flu they can also get us into the flu. And most probably will, silly sods playing with vaccines need to create the problem to attempt to cure it... Then they are just as likely to cause it to cover the costs of finding the cure... LS_________________www.ludlowsurvivors.com Let's keep it realistic if we want others to come on board. Because I have a different opinion on things it doesn't mean I'm wrong and you are right. Denial, it's a defence mechanism
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CornV.I.P.Joined: 08 Jun 2006Posts: 3420Location: Funny Farm
Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:01 pm Post subject:
Corn: This could be more TFH material but the basic thread is here...... gsgs @ FT `Accidental` Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible Posted: 2009/03/06 From: Source Czech Papers Question Whether Contaminated Baxter Vaccine Was `Attempt to Provoke Pandemic` by Paul Joseph Watson (Prison Planet) Czech newspapers are questioning if the shocking discovery of vaccines contaminated with the deadly avian flu virus which were distributed to 18 countries by the American company Baxter were part of a conspiracy to provoke a pandemic. The claim holds weight because, according to the very laboratory protocols that are routine for vaccine makers, mixing a live virus biological weapon with vaccine material by accident is virtually impossible. “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,” reports the Canadian Press. Baxter flu vaccines contaminated with H5N1 - otherwise known as the human form of avian flu, one of the most deadly biological weapons on earth with a 60% kill rate - were received by labs in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovenia. Initially, Baxter attempted to stonewall questions by invoking “trade secrets” and refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1. After increased pressure they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident. This was seemingly an attempt to quickly change the story and hide the fact that the accidental contamination of a vaccine with a deadly biological agent like avian flu is virtually impossible and the only way it could have happened was by wilful gross criminal negligence. According to a compiled translation from Czech newspaper stories, the media over there is asking tough questions about whether the contamination was part of a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic. “Was this just a criminal negligence or it was an attempt to provoke pandemia using vaccination against flu to spread the disease - as happened with the anti-B hepatitis vaccination with vaccines containing the HIV virus in US? - and then cash for the vaccines against H5N1 which Baxter develops? How could on Earth a virus as H5N1 come to the ordinary flu vaccines? Don’t they follow even basic precautions in the american pharma companies?” states the translation. The fact that Baxter mixed the deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses is the smoking gun. The H5N1 virus on its own has killed hundreds of people, but it is less airborne and more restricted in the ease with which it can spread. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which as everyone knows are super-airborne and easily spread, the effect is a potent, super-airbone, super deadly biological weapon. As the Canadian Press article explains, “While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.” There can be little doubt therefore that this was a deliberate attempt to weaponize the H5N1 virus to its most potent extreme and distribute it via conventional flu vaccines to the population who would then infect others to a devastating degree as the disease went airborne. The Canadian Press article states, “That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created,” but then claims that there is no evidence that this is what Baxter were doing, despite there being no clear explanation as to why Baxter has samples of the live avian flu virus on its premises in the first place. However, to reiterate, the key aspect of this story is that it is virtually impossible for live avian flu virus to find its way into a vaccine by “accident”. As health expert Mike Adams points out, “The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) - a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.” As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf…): “Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.” Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped out to vendors around the world. This leaves only two possibilities that explain these events: Possibility #1: Baxter isn’t following BSL3 safety guidelines or is so sloppy in following them that it can make monumental mistakes that threaten the safety of the entire human race. And if that’s the case, then why are we injecting our children with vaccines made from Baxter’s materials? Possibility #2: A rogue employee (or an evil plot from the top management) is present at Baxter, whereby live avian flu viruses were intentionally placed into the vaccine materials in the hope that such materials might be injected into humans and set off a global bird flu pandemic. Spreading bird flu would create an instantaneous surge of demand for bird flu vaccines. The profits that vaccine companies such as Baxter International could reap out of such a panic are astronomical. In addition, as we have previously reported, those that have a stake in the Tamiflu vaccine include top globalists and BIlderberg members like George Shultz, Lodewijk J.R. de Vink and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Authorities in both Europe and the U.S. have openly detailed plans for martial law, quarantine and internment should a bird flu pandemic occur. The other motivation, as we have exhaustively documented on this website for years, is the fact that elites throughout history have openly stated that they want to see a world population reduction of around 80 per cent. Shocking stories like this take the plausibility of that narrative out of the realms of conspiracy theory and into the dangerous reality of conspiracy fact. “Baxter is acting a whole lot like a biological terrorism organization these days, sending deadly viral samples around the world. If you mail an envelope full of anthrax to your Senator, you get arrested as a terrorist. So why is Baxter — which mailed samples of a far more deadly viral strain to labs around the world — getting away with saying, essentially, “Oops?”, Adams concludes. This is not the first time that vaccine companies have been caught distributing vaccines contaminated with deadly viruses. In 2006 it was revealed that Bayer Corporation had discovered that their injection drug, which was used by hemophiliacs, was contaminated with the HIV virus. Internal documents prove that after they positively knew that the drug was contaminated, they took it off the U.S. market only to dump it on the European, Asian and Latin American markets, knowingly exposing thousands, most of them children, to the live HIV virus. Government officials in France went to prison for allowing the drug to be distributed. The documents show that the FDA colluded with Bayer to cover-up the scandal and allowed the deadly drug to be distributed globally. No Bayer executives ever faced arrest or prosecution in the United States. # http://www.prisonplanet.com/
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