Did the ISATTAC review the reconstructed 1918 pandemic influenza virus for inclusion on the HHS Select Agents and Toxins list?
Yes. On September 30, 2005, the CDC DSAT called an emergency meeting of the ISATTAC to consider if the reconstructed 1918 pandemic influenza virus should be added to the HHS Select Agents and Toxins list. Authors of the paper “Characterization of the reconstructed 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic virus,” published in Science on October 7, 2005, presented the findings and characteristics of this reconstituted virus to the Committee. The Committee reviewed the findings and unanimously advised the CDC DSAT that this agent should be added to the HHS list of select agents and toxins. The HHS then requested an expedited clearance of an Interim final rule to add “replication competent forms of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus containing any portion of the coding regions of all eight gene segments” to the list of HHS select agents and toxins.
Related Questions
- Did the ISATTAC review the reconstructed 1918 pandemic influenza virus for inclusion on the HHS Select Agents and Toxins list?
- Are there any similarities between the H1N1 Novel Influenza Virus and earlier pandemic viruses?
- Could the 1918 pandemic influenza virus be inadvertently distributed in a similar manner?
