NEWS The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 5A U.S health officials work to limit labs handling flu virus Samples that were sent to thousands of testing sites will be destroyed WASHINGTON (AP) - Even as they sought to reassure a wary public, federal health officials detailed plans yesterday to restrict the number of labs that can handle deadly flu viruses like the ones sent to thou- sands of facilities worldwide. "We are working on the side of caution," said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Labs around the world tracked and destroyed samples of the deadly flu strain, which has been included in a kit designed to test a lab's ability to identify viruses. The CDC was try- ing to determine why the deadly H2N2 flu virus was included in the first place. "We are very concerned that this particular strain of virus was used for proficiency test- ing," Gerberding said. Gerberding repeatedly described the risk of somebody contracting the virus as minimal. "If an unusual virus had emerged, we would have known it by now," she said. Still, she said, the agency was intent on ensuring that every sample shipped to more than 4,000 labs in 18 countries or territories had been destroyed. So far, about 1,000 labs have sent statements to the College of Ameri- can Pathologists confirming the samples they received were destroyed. The World Health Organization's influenza chief, Klaus Stohr, said he was "relatively confident" most of the samples outside the United States would be destroyed tomorrow. Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong and Sin- gapore have destroyed their samples, while Japan was doing the same, WHO said. Tai- wan and Germany announced that they had destroyed all their vials. The germ, the 1957 H2N2 "Asian flu" strain, killed between 1 million and 4 million people. It has not been included in flu vac- cines since 1968; anyone born after that date has little or no immunity to it. The samples were sent, beginning in Sep- tember, as part of a testing process that mea- sures a laboratory's proficiency in detecting various strains of influenza. The College of American Pathologists directs the testing and contracted with Meridian Bioscience, a com- pany based in Cincinnati, to distribute the test kits. A Canadian lab alerted WHO last month that the kit included the 1957 strain. Gerberding said it was not clear why such a dangerous strain of influenza was included in the test kits. "It's impossible to believe they did not know they were dealing with H2N2," Ger- berding said. The College of American Pathologists said Wednesday that it was the association's policy not to have the kits include micro-organisms that can harm people. Jared Schwartz, an officer with the organi- zation, said Meridian thought it had sent an ordinary flu strain. He said Meridian found the virus in a "germ library" in 2000 that had come from another company. Gerberding said the CDC would move quickly to update guidelines for how influ- enza strains are tested. That would mean lim- iting the handling of dangerous flu strains to labs that have extra protections in place for workers. Gerberding said CDC and the National Institutes of Health had recommended that deadly flu viruses be handled by level 3 labs, which require special hoods and clothing to ensure that workers do not inhale a specimen. Currently, the'}strain can be handled by level 2 facilities, which do not require as stringent precautions. Congressional action is also possible. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, (R- Tenn.), a heart-lung surgeon, said the ship- ments underscored "the need to bolster America's domestic and global public health infrastructure." Added Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachu- setts, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: "Hopefully, it is a loud wake-up call for action by Congress and the administration to expe- dite the urgently needed investments in hos- pitals and all our other public health defenses, before this alarming series of errors becomes a massive national tragedy." White House press secretary Scott McClel- lan said action to prevent a recurrence was ""a high priority for our government." "What we're asking is that if anybody sees any suspicious illness that it be reported immediately," he said. Woman who found finger in food will not sue Wendy's LAS VEGAS (AP) - A woman who claimed she scooped up a human finger in her chili at a Wendy's res- taurant has decided not to sue the fast-food chain, her lawyer said yesterday. Anna Ayala is dropping her claim because the police investigations, DNA tests, a search of her home and intense publicity have "been very difficult for her emo- tionally," Attorney Jeffrey Janoff said. He would not say if the decision was prompted by a report a woman in Nevada had lost her finger a month earlier in a leopard attack, and that it might be related to Ayala's claim. San Jose, Calif., police said they were investigating a possible connection to the finger of a woman who owned several exotic animals - and lost a digit in a Feb. 23 leop- ard attack, the San Jose Mercury-News reported. Sandy Allman reportedly got her finger back in a bag of ice, and it could not be reattached after the attack in Pahrump, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas. Ayala was visiting relatives in San Jose on yesterday and could not be reached for comment, said her son, Guadalupe Reyes, 18. The teenager said Ayala doesn't known Allman. "Mom doesn't even know how to get to Pahrump," Reyes said, adding that his mother was distressed by all the atten- tion. "The way I see it, it's like a big show," Reyes said. "Everyone's saying this and that. It's ridiculous. People are just trying to get the $50,000" reward offered by Wendy's. Efforts to contact Allman were unsuccessful. Ayala, 39, was at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose on March 22 when she claimed she scooped up the 1 1/2-inch-long fingertip. She later filed a claim with the franchise owner, Fresno-based JEM Management Corp., which her attorney had said was the first step before fil- ing a lawsuit. Court records show Ayala has a history of mak- ing claims against corporations, including a former employer, General Motors and a fast-food restaurant. "The way I see it, it's like a big show. Everyone's saying this and that. It's ridiculous. People are just trying to get the $50,000 reward offered by Wendy's." - Guadalupe Reyes Son of Anna Ayala, the woman who claimed she found a human finger in her chili at a Wendy's restaurant She acknowledged getting a settlement several years ago after her daughter was sickened at a Las Vegas res- taurant. "Lies, lies, lies, that's all I am hearing," she said last week after her home was searched last week by police. "They should look at Wendy's. What are they hiding? Why are we being victimized again and again?" Clark County District Attorney David Roger said yesterday documents relating to the warrant had been sealed. Wendy's spokesman Denny Lynch declined to com- ment on Ayala's decision to drop the lawsuit, but said a reward hot line will stay open. "It's very important to us to find out what really happened at the restaurant," he said. Wendy's maintains the finger did not enter the chili in its ingredients. All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy's ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries, the company said. ---------------- - ------ - Consider accelerating your academic progress by being a guest student in summer -X classes at Lawrence Tech. Flexible day and evening classes, exposure to top faculty, and high-tech facilities can make your summer most rewarding. College of Architecture and Design Architecture Facility Management Imaging Interior Architecture College of Arts and Sciences Business Management Chemical Biology Chemistry Computer Science Environmental Chemistry Humanities Mathematics Mathematics and Computer Science Physics Psychology Technical and Professional Communication 800. CALL.LTU www.ltu.edu Y K K1'u - ~ I IU