French Scientists: We've Lost SARS Virus Vials

2000 tubes of the virus ... gone.
Lost? Or were they stolen? And who'd steal them? hmmm....
No infectious potential. No ability to spread. ALLEGEDLY.


French Scientists - We've Lost SARS Virus Vials

A routine inventory at the prestigious French research body Institut Pasteur in Paris revealed it has lost some 2,300 tubes containing samples of the potentially deadly SARS virus.

France’s distinguished Institut Pasteur, which was among the first to isolate HIV in the 1980s, admitted on Monday that it has lost some 2,349 vials containing samples of the deadly SARS virus.

During a recent inventory researchers realized the vials were unaccounted for and so called in France’s drug and health safety agency "l'Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé" to help with the search, according to a statement from Institut Pasteur.

The drug and health safety people spent four days, from April 4th-12th, doing an ‘in depth’ investigation at the unnamed lab in question and came up empty handed as well.

Statement in French from the Institute

IB Times - French Lab Loses 2000 Tubes of Killer Virus

A routine inventory check at Paris' Pasteur Institute revealed that 2,349 tubes containing fragments of the virus responsible for the deaths of 774 people in 2002 were missing, the centre named after French chemist Louis Pasteur said.

The institute was quick to reassure the public and said that the contents of the missing vials had no infectious potential. They contained only part of the virus and had no ability to spread.

Well T\that's just great! I just hope Terrorist don't get a hold of the virus.

Ooops.
We aren't sure what happened to those darned vials.

YIKES!

butcherguy
Ooops. We aren't sure what happened to those darned vials.

- Lost?
- Just a paperwork glitch and they never really existed?
- Stolen?
- SOLD ??? and if so, who to ??

What gets me is the 'oh they aren't contagious so don't worry about it' ...
Sure. Alright. I'll take their word for it. NOT!!

reply to post by FlyersFan


Yeah, it's only like..... 2300 VIALS!

wow.

reply to post by FlyersFan


The assertion that these vials contained only a neutered, non-contagious version of the virus is all very well, but I wonder how hard it would really be, for someone to find a geneticist or virologist of a fair degree of skill, and a poor degree of moral fiber to alter the virus so that it COULD become contagious again? Is that a possibility?

All I know is, that contagious or not, this sort of material should be inventoried DAILY to ensure that it is always under lock and key, and always traceable. There can be simply no excuse for this what so ever. My recommendation would be to fire the entire department responsible for the batch at the time as an example, and get INTERPOL on the case to locate the rest of it.

Whether this stuff disappeared as a result of a clandestine acquisition on the part of shady types, or has been lost in a warehouse somewhere, it needs finding and putting under some manner of security again.

What I dont get is Why there were so many samples of a deadly virus in the first place.....and all at the same location too....

reply to post by TrueBrit


My thoughts were, "OK, so this isn't infectious, but the lab they were in is a top security lab that likely handles some very, very nasty stuff. If they can't account for these ... and 2,300+ is not a small paperwork glitch ..., what else can't they account for that we aren't being told about?"

reply to post by FlyersFan


Lost? What, are there black holes there? Interfaces with other universes? Rooms impossible to use light in? Call it what it is, thievery. Someone stole the vials. They don't walk on their own, or fly. This is a rather large bit of dangerous incompetence!

I like, in the article below, how it states the vials were in 29 boxes.

29!! How on Earth could one lose 29 boxes? Without being seen?

It is interesting to note that they plan to conduct an inventory check on their micro-organisms and toxins within the next few weeks. Why not now?



Paris lab loses deadly virus samples

The Pasteur Institute in Paris has asked the authorities to investigate the disappearance of more than 2,000 vials containing fragments of the SARS virus, while insisting that missing samples represent no danger to the public.

The institute said it discovered the loss of 29 boxes containing 2,349 tiny vials during a routine inventory check.

The vials containing the SARS fragments were kept in a laboratory known as P3.
Professor Bréchot said that "not a single vial" could have left the lab without being sterilized. The Institute closed the lab Monday.

The Institute said that tests on the samples, collected from people infected with SARS, had all proved negative in 2003 and that the refrigerator holding the samples had malfunctioned and defrosted in 2012, which would have killed the virus.

Professor Bréchot aid that the disappearance of the SARS samples was "unacceptable" and that the institute would conduct an inventory of its "micro-organisms and toxins" within the next month.

auroraaus
How on Earth could one lose 29 boxes? Without being seen?

That's what makes me wonder about ....

Was it stolen? NOT GOOD. Was it SOLD? Again - NOT GOOD. Both those would be for nefarious reasons.

Was it lost or was it never there to begin with? A record keeping problem? Then the people handing this stuff aren't as smart as we'd want them to be. Again .. NOT GOOD.

reply to post by ketsuko


- I automatically do not believe the line of 'not infectious'. Considering they can't keep track of their stuff ... how are we to know if they can keep track of if it's infectious or not?

- Yeah, good point. What else has gone missing there? Or is mislabeled? Or is mishandled? etc etc

Almost see as:
French Scientists: We've sold SARS Virus Vials

reply to post by FlyersFan


Some one likely stuck em in the autoclave thinking they are waste either cause some twat didnt label them properly or they didn't sign them out as destroyed.

Happened once to some vials of a nasty pathogen at a Cat 3 lab I worked at. Person got sacked once the higher up found at and we got a nasty worded latter from the UK home office. It was a smaller scale though.

On this scale the poor sod will get sacked and likely end up in jail. Hence why whoever responsible wont own up to his/her mistake.

FlyersFan
A record keeping problem? Then the people handing this stuff aren't as smart as we'd want them to be. Again .. NOT GOOD.

Thats the thing. At most these places you get the newbie or interns to do the heavy lifting and warehouse keeping.
They fetch the stuff, put it back and destroy it.

So likely some wet behind the ears grad student that has no experience screwed up big time.

You can have a dozen degrees from Oxford, Yale, Harvard ect but it don't teach you common sense in the work place. In fact from what I have seen the higher the education the worst they are at the little things like book keeping and warehouse keeping as they think its below them!

Lol, you'r assuming they aren't lying about what Virus was lost. They are saying SARS but it could be something completely else. This reminds me a lot of Helix ( sci-fi show ) Private sector buying viruses to sell new pathogens or something.

Hmm lets see... We have a missing plane, 2300 vials.. That would make one hell of a thing. ( Joking )

Edit: I don't think these are stolen for any sort of terror attack, Sars only has a mortality rate of 9.6%
en.wikipedia.org...

hey, these are just like your car keys...they sometimes get lost......." sacre bleu!!! set down your wine glass, and help me look for those 2300 missing vials, yuuuue idiote" !!!

candlestick
Almost see as:
French Scientists: We've sold SARS Virus Vials

I don't see what being french has anything to do with it.

Iv been major screw ups from both Brits and Americans.

crazyewok

candlestick
Almost see as:
French Scientists: We've sold SARS Virus Vials

I don't see what being french has anything to do with it.

Iv been major screw ups from both Brits and Americans.

While that is true, only the French would admit it.

P

pheonix358


While that is true, only the French would admit it.

P

Exactly!

French least have the honestly to admit it.

British and American institutions would just sit on it and you would never hear about it.