The Albuquerque Tribune: Science By Anna Macias Aguayo, Associated Press

Federal officials are still at a loss to explain how the potentially deadly strain could be sent to more than 4,000 labs around the world.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is operating under the presumption that the H2N2 strain was purposefully included in the panels designed to test the labs’ proficiency in identifying viruses.

“I’m sure it was not an inadvertent use,” said Julie Gerberding, CDC director, “because it would be almost impossible to believe that they didn’t know they were dealing with H2N2.”

Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said Congress should review how the strain was so easily distributed.

“We can’t have this happen,” Osterholm said. “Who needs terrorists or Mother Nature, when through our own stupidity, we do things like this?”

This Associated Press story appeared in the Albuquerque Tribune. Albuquerque Journal readers should note you didn’t see that part of the article; you only got the first 8 paragraphs which ended on a very confident “no problem here” note. mjh