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Theory That Lab Accident is Source of H1N1 Dispelled

The World Health Organization reports the H1N1 virus did not result from a laboratory accident. This statement from the WHO contradicts a statement made earlier last week by Adrian Gibbs, that the virus may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drug makers use to make vaccines. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's deputy director general, said the evidence suggests that this is a naturally occurring virus, not a laboratory-derived virus.

Scientists have yet to pinpoint the origin of the virus, the earliest cases of which were found in Veracruz, Mexico. The H1N1 virus contains genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia, as well as avian and human genes.