Deadly Flu Strain Shipped Worldwide Officials Race to Destroy Samples
A dangerous strain of the flu virus that caused a worldwide pandemic in 1957 was sent to thousands of laboratories in the United States and around the world, triggering a frantic effort to destroy the samples to prevent an outbreak, health officials revealed yesterday.
「フランティック」と「アウトブレイク」は映画の題名 make frantic efforts =狂奔する、死に物狂いになる、死力を尽くす、必死の努力をする 笑い事じゃないけれど↑目に浮かぶなあ。 Because the virus is easily transmitted from person to person and many people have no immunity to it, the discovery has raised alarm that it could cause another deadly pandemic if a laboratory worker became infected, officials said.
As a result, health authorities were urgently working to make sure all samples are destroyed and to closely monitor anyone who may have come into contact with the virus for signs of illness, officials said.
英文ニュースをもう少し読んでいくと「benign 良性の」ウィルスを使う ルーティンワーク to be tested as part of routine quality-control certification に紛れ込んだらしい。 それにしても、発送は昨年秋のことらしい。 The mistake came to light March 25 when the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, identified the virus. "They were doing this routine testing and identified this virus and said, 'This shouldn't be here,' "
'This shouldn't be here,' ↑ オーマィゴッッ!まさに「come to light」 でも大流行(pandemic)が起きていたら、またテロ騒ぎになったのだろう。