User:Cap'n Refsmmat/ScienceNews/April 14, 2005/display

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Oops, wrong virus--April 14th, 2005[edit]

A maker of influenza test kits, used in medical facilities, accidentally shipped the wrong virus in thousands of its kits. And this wasn't just any old virus--it was H2N2, which was the one that killed millions in a 1957-58 pandemic.

So just what danger does this pose? The manufacturer says the risk of this sparking another pandemic is practically nil. Because nobody born after 1958 would have much of an immunity to the virus at all (it is not protected against by flu shots, as it is quite rare nowadays), the emergence of it again would hospitalize many.

I think somebody has some major explaining to do.

Source: Forbes