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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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Swine Flu Came From Lab: Researcher

WHO investigates claim that H1N1 arose from human error

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(Newser) – The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus may have been created in a laboratory as a result of human error. Adrian Gibbs, who helped develop Tamiflu, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the new strain may have evolved in eggs that drug makers use to make vaccines. "One of the simplest explanations is that it’s a laboratory escape," he said.

Gibbs came to suspect human error behind swine flu after analyzing the genetic blueprint of the H1N1 strain. The rate of genetic mutation in the new virus was about three times faster than similar viruses in pigs, which suggests it evolved outside of swine populations, he said. CDC officials in Atlanta said there was no evidence to support Gibbs' claim.

This 2009 image taken through a microscope and provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus.
This 2009 image taken through a microscope and provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus.   (AP Photo/Center for Disease Control and Prevention, C. S. Goldsmith and A. Balish)
Microbiologist Ayesha Khan does research on samples at the San Diego County Public Health lab.
Microbiologist Ayesha Khan does research on samples at the San Diego County Public Health lab.   (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)
Nurses get to work at the Chengdu communicable disease hospital in Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan province.
Nurses get to work at the Chengdu communicable disease hospital in Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan province.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Medical workers wait to be disinfected before entering a quarantine area in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province, yesterday.
Medical workers wait to be disinfected before entering a quarantine area in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province, yesterday.   (AP Photo)
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shonangreg
May 13, 09 8:37 AM CDT
The Bloomberg article is fairly good -- with decent detail in an understandable language. There are no conclusions yet on the hypothesis/theory that it was an accidental human creation. .................... Maybe in a couple of weeks there will be more news on the science behind this virus' evolution and genesis . . . Reply
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 13, 09 2:05 PM CDT
Not conclusive... but I've always had a feeling that the Spanish Influenza was begun by inoculations given to U.S. soldiers in Kansas; no responsibility has ever been accepted for the worst plague ever known... Reply
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