SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - At least one South Dakota laboratory is among those that received samples of a deadly flu strain that caused a pandemic in 1957, a state health department official said Thursday.
The state's public health lab in Pierre was notified last Friday that it was among the labs where the strain has been shipped, said spokeswoman Barb Buhler. The samples were destroyed immediately, she said.
The virus might have been shipped to other labs in the state, too, said Buhler. But she said she doesn't know for sure since they are not required to report that information to the state.
Sioux Falls television station KELO reported three labs in South Dakota have confirmed they got similar shipments.
"If anyone did, they received the same notification we did that it needed to be destroyed," said Buhler.
At the state health lab, Buhler said the virus was destroyed in a routine steam sterilization process. She said it is unlikely that anyone would have come into contact with the virus.
The samples were included in kits used to test workers' ability to identify unknown viruses. Nearly 5,000 labs in 18 countries have been urged to destroy the samples.
Granted the risk of spreading the strain is minimal, but still. I also hope the person responsible for sending pandemic flu to 18 countries (!) gets fired.
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