Calming flu fears

Scientists around the world are rushing to calm flu fears. This after a nearly 50-year-old killer flu virus is mistakenly sent to thousands of labs including three in Oklahoma. <br/><br/>OU Health Science

Thursday, April 14th 2005, 5:46 am

By: News On 6

Scientists around the world are rushing to calm flu fears. This after a nearly 50-year-old killer flu virus is mistakenly sent to thousands of labs including three in Oklahoma.

OU Health Science Center's Viral Laboratory, the State Health Department and Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa all received the virus in the mail. A paperwork error is blamed for the samples accidentally being sent out by an Ohio company.

OU officials quickly identified the deadly flu strain OU Virus Lab director Joseph Waner: "everything that comes into the virus lab is treated as though it were this kind of an agent."

All three medical labs here in Oklahoma have destroyed their samples of the flu. And there are no reports the strain was released to the general public.