Smallpox virus location

Replay Video. Skip Ad. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Found the story interesting? Like us on Facebook to see similar stories. I'm already a fan, don't show this again. The discovery occurred at the Merck Upper Gwenydd facility in North Wales, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, according to a source with knowledge of the ongoing situation.

It is not clear exactly when the vials were discovered. The CDC said an investigation is underway. News first reported the discovery.

Merck did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning. There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials. We will provide further details as they are available. But the new situation is different. The vials labeled variola, commonly known as smallpox, were discovered July 1 on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, by surprised employees preparing for an upcoming move, according to the CDC. Tests confirmed the samples contained smallpox DNA.

Further tests that can take up to two weeks will determine whether the samples are viable, meaning they can grow in tissue culture, with the potential to spread. The virus samples may have been in the storage unit since the laboratory was transferred from NIH to FDA in , along with the responsibility for regulating biologic products. They appear to date from the s, officials said. Many people consider smallpox eradication to be the biggest achievement in international public health. Following the eradication of smallpox, scientists and public health officials determined there was still a need to perform research using the variola virus.

They agreed to reduce the number of laboratories holding stocks of variola virus to only four locations. In , the four countries that either served as a WHO collaborating center or were actively working with variola virus were the United States, England, Russia, and South Africa. By , England and South Africa had either destroyed their stocks or transferred them to other approved labs. Three-year-old Rahima Banu with her mother in Bangladesh.

Rahima was the last known person to have had naturally acquired smallpox in the world. An 8-year-old girl named Bilkisunnessa reported the case to the local Smallpox Eradication Program team and received a Taka reward. Foster M. WHO poster commemorating the eradication of smallpox in October , which was officially endorsed by the 33rd World Health Assembly on May 8, Courtesy of WHO. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. History of Smallpox. Minus Related Pages. Origin of Smallpox The origin of smallpox is unknown. Spread of Smallpox Historians trace the global spread of smallpox to the growth of civilizations and exploration. Early Control Efforts Smallpox was a terrible disease.