4/28/09

Rara Avis

Rara Avis: a rare thing. OR NOT.

Chapter 1 - In the Name of Preparedness

January 2004:
One of the worst fears of infectious disease experts is that the H5N1 avian influenza virus now circulating in parts of Asia will combine with a human-adapted flu virus to create a deadly new flu virus that could spread around the world.

That could happen, scientists predict, if someone who is already infected with an ordinary flu virus contracts the avian virus at the same time. [rara avis] The avian virus has already caused at least 48 confirmed human illness cases in Asia, of which 35 have been fatal.

The virus has shown little ability to spread from person to person, but the fear is that a hybrid could combine the killing power of the avian virus with the transmissibility of human flu viruses.

Now, rather than waiting to see if nature spawns such a [rara avis] hybrid, US scientists are planning to try to breed one themselves—in the name of preparedness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon launch experiments designed to combine the H5N1 virus and human flu viruses and then see how the resulting hybrids affect animals. The goal is to assess the chances that such a [rara avis] "reassortant" virus will emerge and how dangerous it might be.

Is that a Stupid Fucking Idea, or what? Let's play with matches. Let's run with scissors. Let's pour lighter fluid on a blazing fire. Oh wait I know...let's create in a laboratory a killer mutant virus that nature would probably never generate on its own.
The plans call for trying two methods to create hybrid viruses, CDC spokesman David Daigle told CIDRAP News via e-mail. One is to infect cells in a laboratory tissue culture with H5N1 and human flu viruses at the same time and then watch to see if they mix. For the human virus, investigators will use A (H3N2), the strain that has caused most human flu cases in recent years, according to the CP report.

The other method is reverse genetics—assembling a new virus with sets of genes from the H5N1 and H3N2 viruses. Reverse genetics has already been used to create H5N1 candidate vaccines in several laboratories, according to Daigle. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said recently it would soon launch a clinical trial of one of those vaccines.

Of the two methods, the co-infection approach was described as slower and more laborious, though closer to what happens in nature.

Hold it right there. Seven months later BiondVax, an Israeli company, developed a "quantum leap in technology" for influenza vaccines. The key players are Isaac Devash, Chairman, Ron Babecoff, Founder and CEO, and Ruth Arnon, Weizmann Institute of Science Professor.
"It's a quantum leap in technology," [rara avis] he told ISRAEL21c. "It's a totally different concept from other vaccinations. What generally happens today is that there are 120 monitoring stations globally that look for new strains of virus around the world. Once it shows up, they identify the surface of the virus and develop a vaccine to combat it."

"Professor Arnon said 'I don't want to play that game'. It's tedious work identifying new strains of the virus and there are always new ones coming up. She said let's look conceptually at the virus - beneath the surface - to see if there are particular elements that don't change. And then let's make a vaccine out of those parts which are universal in all viruses," explained Devash.
Back to CIDRAP News in January 2004:

Any viable viruses that emerge from these processes will be seeded into animals that are considered good models for testing how flu viruses behave in humans, according to Daigle. The aim will be to observe whether the animals get sick and whether infected animals can infect others.

And fast forward again to BiondVax in July 2004:
Devash said that Arnon's lab in Rehovot tested the vaccine on "human mice," - rodents in which a human immune system (white blood cells) have been introduced.

"The results were staggering. [rara avis] The humanized mice were vaccinated and then attacked by different strains of influenza. All of the vaccinated mice stayed alive, while the control group of mice who didn't receive the vaccination all died," he said.

This success rate among the 'human mice' predicts a high likelihood of success in human clinical trials, Devash added. The new vaccine activates both arms of the human immune system (B- & T-cells) resulting in over 95% protection.
Back to January:

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been "pleading" for laboratories to do this research, because it could provide some evidence to back up the agency's warnings about the risk of a flu pandemic, according to the CP report. [Except for risking an actual pandemic so as to have evidence of warnings, great thinking. WTF?]

Klaus Stohr, head of the WHO's global influenza program, was quoted as saying that if none of the hybrids caused disease, the agency might be inclined to dial down its level of concern. [That would be a NWO AGENDA FAILURE.] But if the experiments produce highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses, the agency will be more worried, he said. [Meaning, "worried." It's just a word.]

Chapter 2 - Safety Precautions

We're still with the CIDRAP article, January 2004:
Because of the obvious risks in creating viruses with the potential to spark a pandemic, the work will be done in a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory at the CDC in Atlanta, Daigle told CIDRAP News.

"We recognize that there is concern by some over this type of work. This concern may be heightened by reports of recent lab exposures in other lab facilities," he said. "But CDC has an incredible record in lab safety and is taking very strict precautions."[or not]

Daigle said the US Department of Agriculture requires that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses be treated as "Select Agents" and that research on them must be done in BSL-3 labs with "enhancements." These include "special provisions to protect both laboratory workers and the environment."

BSL-3 is the second highest level of laboratory biosecurity. It is used for work with pathogens that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease if inhaled, such as tuberculosis or St. Louis encephalitis, according to the CDC.

CDC experiments with HPAI viruses have to pass reviews by the agency's Institutional Biosafety Committee and Animal Care and Use Committee, Daigle said. The facilities involved are inspected by the USDA and the CDC's Office of Safety and Health, and staff members who work with Select Agents require special clearance.

Well, phew. Even though this is an Incredibly Stupid and Dangerous Idea, safety precautions have been taken.

Chapter 3 - Who Could Have Predicted?

Except that somehow between 2004 and 2009, the work was contracted out to some other places besides the BSL-3 CDC lab in Georgia, and the safety precautions went right out the window! Oopsie! And furthermore, the original article describing this disaster went "away." And on top of that, nobody appears to be in any trouble whatsoever!
Officials are trying to get to the bottom of how vaccine manufacturer Baxter International Inc. made "experimental virus material" based on a human flu strain but contaminated with the H5N1 avian flu virus and then distributed it to an Austrian company. That company, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then disseminated the supposed H3N2 virus product to subcontractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany. Authorities in the four European countries are looking into the incident, and their efforts are being closely watched by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Control.
Yeah, it was the WHO who PLEADED for laboratories to do this Exceedingly Stupid and Dangerous Research back in 2004. And now it has all gone terribly wrong. As Dear Condi would say, WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED? This is all very regrettable, don't you agree?
Baxter International, which is based in Deerfield, Ill., said the contamination was the result of an error [rara avis] in its research facility in Orth-Donau, Austria. The facility had been contracted by Avir Green Hills to make what Baxter refers to as "experimental virus material" based on human H3N2 viruses....Avir Green Hills said in an email that it took possession of the material in late December. It later sent the product to the sub-contractors. The email said the material was stored and handled throughout under high biosafety conditions. [OR NOT] Alarm bells rang in early February when researchers at the Czech sub-contractor inoculated ferrets with the material and the animals promptly died. Baxter learned about the problem on Feb. 6, Bona said from Deerfield.

From my post on March 2, 2009:

Bona said Baxter has identified how the contamination happened and has taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. He said Austrian authorities audited Baxter's Orth-Donau research operations after the problem came to light and are satisfied with the steps taken. [Just brush your hands together, we're all set.]

Baxter is the only flu vaccine manufacturer to work with wild type flu viruses, [rara avis] felt to be more dangerous than the altered and attenuated (weakened) viruses other manufacturers use. [Special.]

The company uses what is known as BSL3 level precautions in all its vaccine research facilities, Bona said. [OR NOT!] (Researchers at the U.S. CDC use BSL3-plus biocontainment when working with H5N1 viruses, a spokesperson for the agency said.) [And that's where this Incredibly Stupid project was supposed to take place, at the CDC in Georgia.]

People familiar with biosecurity rules are dismayed by evidence that human H3N2 and avian H5N1 viruses have somehow co-mingled in the Baxter research facility. That should not be allowed to happen, a number of experts insisted. [Yet it was, and nobody seems to be very upset. No heads rolling...nothing. Isn't that kind of odd?]

The company isn't shedding much light on how it did. [And they get away with that.]

"It was a combination of just the process itself, (and) technical and human error in this procedure," Bona said. When asked to elaborate, he said to do so would give away proprietary information about Baxter's production process. [Oh, like, who really runs this cock-up for the NWO crowd?]

Bona said when Baxter realized its error, it helped the various companies destroy the contaminated material and clean up their facilities. And staff who had been exposed to the contaminated product were assessed and monitored by infectious diseases doctors. They were also offered the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). [This is like Israel investigating its own war crimes.]
Chapter 4 - Here We Come to Save the Day

I'm sure we can all agree that this is very unfortunate and regrettable, this incident with Baxter and Avir Green Hills. Somebody should really be held accountable, but don't hold your breath. But the "Good News" is that BiondVax's stock is just through the roof! As the Once-ler once said, "Oh baby oh! How my business did grow!" You know, because they were Lucky to be the company with a SOLUTION to the PROBLEM.

In March the shares sold at $24, and now they sell at $106. Hoo boy. Lucky, huh? [rara avis]
Among the companies who will participate at ILSI-Biomed Israel will be BiondVax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a firm developing a revolutionary vaccination that will provide universal multi-season/multi-strain protection against human flu virus strains.

"Outbreaks of strains such as swine flu are exactly the reason why we are developing our vaccine. While vaccinations will cost, the global treatment of a pandemic would be a much more expensive proposition, especially given the global economic challenges we have today," said Dr. Ron Babecoff, DVM, Founder, President & CEO of BiondVax. "ILSI-Biomed Israel is an important venue for Israeli companies like BiondVax to show the world how we in Israel are playing a role in helping people life longer, healthier lives."
Hegel would be proud.
Research credit: Sis.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like to chime in here with a big, fat YES!! That IS a stupid fucking idea.

Sis said...

Stupid or DEMONIC. I feel like the lady who found out her husband was sprinkling rat poison on her morning toast.

A. Peasant said...

you're right sis, it is demonic. and it is also stupid, a concept accessible to more people at this point in time ;)

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