The Galveston National Laboratory lost one of five vials containing a deadly Venezuelan virus, ABC News reported Monday.
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 suspect the missing vial containing the Guanarito virus was destroyed during the lab's cleaning process but the investigation continues.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the vial contained around a quarter of a teaspoon of the Guanarito virus, and was one of five such vials stored at the facility. But during last week's inspection of the lab (a regular, routine occurrence), UTMB lab workers discovered that one of the vials had been misplaced from the biohazard freezer in which it had been stored.
What is Guanarito?
Like Ebola, the missing Guanarito virus causes hemorrhagic fever, an illness named for "bleeding under the skin, in internal organs or from body orifices like the mouth, eyes, or ears," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to a report in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, this form of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of 33%, despite "hospitalization and vigorous supportive care" of patients. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, convulsions, and other equally unpleasant symptoms, like death.
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.
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