As part of the usual regulatory inventory procedures, the Institut Pasteur, a private foundation that contributes to the prevention and treatment of diseases, primarily infectious, noted the loss of tubes containing fragments of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS). “This discovery reveals a lack of traceability on certain samples” affirms the Institute in a press release.
Missing tubes are not dangerous
As the procedure foresees, the Institute informed the National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM), conducted an internal investigation and closed the laboratory where the tubes were stored.
Fortunately, the missing tubes have no infectious potential. “Independent experts, approached by the health authorities, have indeed qualified as” null “this potential in view of the available elements and the known elements of the literature on the survival of the SARS virus” affirms the Institute in its press release.
Following this information, the ANSM launched an investigation which gives rise to on-site investigations, in particular in the laboratory affected by this disappearance.
Appeared in China in 2002, SARS, atypical pneumonia caused an epidemic. This virus killed 800 out of 8,000 cases recorded in 2003.
