China Has Withheld Samples of a Dangerous Flu Virus

Health workers attending to an H7N9 avian flu patient in Wuhan, China, in 2017. CreditCreditAgence France-Presse -- Getty Images

CLICK HERE - WHO - Pandemic influenza preparedness Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits (68 page .PDF document)

Despite an international agreement, U.S. health authorities still have not received H7N9 avian flu specimens from their Chinese counterparts.

nytimes.com - by Emily Baumgaertner - August 27, 2018

For over a year, the Chinese government has withheld lab samples of a rapidly evolving influenza virus from the United States — specimens needed to develop vaccines and treatments, according to federal health officials.

Despite persistent requests from government officials and research institutions, China has not provided samples of the dangerous virus, a type of bird flu called H7N9. In the past, such exchanges have been mostly routine under rules established by the World Health Organization.

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