Vials of Smallpox discovered in Pennsylvania

nivek

As Above So Below
a smallpox lab leak occurred in the United Kingdom in 1978

We could have had another leak, this time in Pennsylvania...

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Vials of deadly virus accidentally discovered at Pennsylvania research facility while cleaning freezer: CDC

Several frozen vials labeled "smallpox" were discovered by a laboratory worker while cleaning out a freezer in a facility that conducts vaccine research in Pennsylvania, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to Fox News. "There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials," a CDC spokeswoman said via email.

CDC, its administration partners and law enforcement are investigating the matter and the vials’ contents appear intact. The laboratory worker who discovered the vials was wearing gloves and a face mask. The organization will provide further details as they are available.

According to Yahoo News, which cited an alert sent to Department of Homeland Security leadership, the vials were reportedly found in a freezer Monday night at a Merck facility outside Philadelphia.

The closest Merck sites to Philadelphia are the sprawling campuses in West Point and North Wales, Montgomery County, although 6abc Action News could not confirm there are questionable vials inside either building.

There were reportedly a total of 15 questionable vials, according to the unclassified "For Official Use Only" alert, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo News. Five of the vials were labeled "smallpox" and 10 were labeled "vaccinia." The vials were secured immediately.

CDC's website says smallpox, a disease caused by the variola virus, was eradicated thanks to the success of vaccination and no cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since 1977. The last natural outbreak of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949.

The virus is considered so deadly that only two labs in the world are authorized to store samples of it, one in Russia and the other at the CDC in Atlanta.

Scientists have debated for years whether or not to destroy the remaining samples. Those in favor of keeping them have argued they are needed to develop new vaccines in response to a new outbreak.

The majority of Americans are not vaccinated against smallpox, and those who were vaccinated would likely now have waning immunity. The CDC will arrive on site Wednesday to take custody of the vials and transport them to another facility for testing, the alert notes, Yahoo News reports.

Merck did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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wwkirk

Divine
We could have had another leak, this time in Pennsylvania...

...

Vials of deadly virus accidentally discovered at Pennsylvania research facility while cleaning freezer: CDC

Several frozen vials labeled "smallpox" were discovered by a laboratory worker while cleaning out a freezer in a facility that conducts vaccine research in Pennsylvania, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to Fox News. "There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials," a CDC spokeswoman said via email.

CDC, its administration partners and law enforcement are investigating the matter and the vials’ contents appear intact. The laboratory worker who discovered the vials was wearing gloves and a face mask. The organization will provide further details as they are available.

According to Yahoo News, which cited an alert sent to Department of Homeland Security leadership, the vials were reportedly found in a freezer Monday night at a Merck facility outside Philadelphia.

The closest Merck sites to Philadelphia are the sprawling campuses in West Point and North Wales, Montgomery County, although 6abc Action News could not confirm there are questionable vials inside either building.

There were reportedly a total of 15 questionable vials, according to the unclassified "For Official Use Only" alert, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo News. Five of the vials were labeled "smallpox" and 10 were labeled "vaccinia." The vials were secured immediately.

CDC's website says smallpox, a disease caused by the variola virus, was eradicated thanks to the success of vaccination and no cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since 1977. The last natural outbreak of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949.

The virus is considered so deadly that only two labs in the world are authorized to store samples of it, one in Russia and the other at the CDC in Atlanta.

Scientists have debated for years whether or not to destroy the remaining samples. Those in favor of keeping them have argued they are needed to develop new vaccines in response to a new outbreak.

The majority of Americans are not vaccinated against smallpox, and those who were vaccinated would likely now have waning immunity. The CDC will arrive on site Wednesday to take custody of the vials and transport them to another facility for testing, the alert notes, Yahoo News reports.

Merck did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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It's astonishing that labs could be so loose dealing with such deadly materials. But it underscore the possibility of accidental leaks in China and elsewhere.
 

nivek

As Above So Below

nivek

As Above So Below
The last known naturally occurring case happened in 1977 in Somalia. The last natural US outbreak was in 1949. By 1980, the WHO declared the disease wiped out.

If smallpox were to get out into the public, we would be doomed, they should have destroyed the remaining samples in the world while keeping the vaccine intact...

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nivek

As Above So Below
It's astonishing that labs could be so loose dealing with such deadly materials. But it underscore the possibility of accidental leaks in China and elsewhere.

The more I read about the haphazard handling of these deadly viruses and the experiments on engineering them, the more I think we really dodged a bullet with Covid...It could have been an even deadlier virus that got out killing millions more than Covid...If smallpox got out into circulation I can't imagine the scores of people dead before it could be contained...

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nivek

As Above So Below
I think they're lying to cover this up, when discovered some vials were labeled smallpox and some were labeled vaccinia...So the CDC gets their hands on it and claims the vials were mislabeled and all of them contained vaccinia...I think they want this story to go away and are making false claims that no one will be able to prove because they hold the only evidence...I think we may have dodged a bullet and lucky that virus didn't get out...

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Smallpox vials found at Merck lab were mislabeled and didn't actually contain the deadly virus - just the vaccine for it, CDC reveals

The CDC says vials discovered in a Merck laboratory in Philadelphia were incorrectly labeled 'smallpox' and actually contained the vaccine for the virus.

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wwkirk

Divine
I think they're lying to cover this up, when discovered some vials were labeled smallpox and some were labeled vaccinia...So the CDC gets their hands on it and claims the vials were mislabeled and all of them contained vaccinia...I think they want this story to go away and are making false claims that no one will be able to prove because they hold the only evidence...I think we may have dodged a bullet and lucky that virus didn't get out...

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Smallpox vials found at Merck lab were mislabeled and didn't actually contain the deadly virus - just the vaccine for it, CDC reveals

The CDC says vials discovered in a Merck laboratory in Philadelphia were incorrectly labeled 'smallpox' and actually contained the vaccine for the virus.

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Your suspicion is highly plausible. But we'll need a credible whistleblower to confirm it.
As much as I love conspiracies, though, this time I hope it was just a labeling error.
 
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