Vial Containing Deadly Virus Missing From Lab
Texas – Officials say a vial containing a virus that can cause haemorrhagic fever has gone missing from a research facility in Galveston in Texas, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The facility however says there is no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public.
The University of Texas Medical Branch said Saturday that there was no breach in the security its Galveston National Laboratory and no indication of wrongdoing.
Officials believe the missing vial containing the Guanarito virus could have been destroyed during the lab’s cleaning process, however the investigation into its location will continue.
The medical branch says the virus, native to Venezuela, is transmitted only through contact with Venezuelan rats. It is not believed to be able to survive in U.S. rodents or to be transmitted person-to-person.
The lethal vial was discovered missing on Wednesday.
