Illegal import of virus to United States could have wreaked havoc, experts chide.

The smuggled virus was an H9N2 strain Credit: © FAO

As the virulent bird flu sweeping through Asia holds global attention, regulators in Maine are dealing with an avian virus closer to home. A Maine biotechnology company that makes vaccines for poultry diseases was in August fined $500,000 for smuggling a chicken flu virus into the US.

Vaccine manufacturer Maine Biological Labs in 1998 illegally imported the virus from Saudi Arabia so that it could develop a vaccine for a disease-plagued poultry farm in that country. According to court records, the following year the company used falsified documents to send 8,000 bottles of the newly created vaccine back to Saudi Arabia.

"If the virus got out, it could have decimated poultry populations and cost billions of dollars," says Keith Haffer, a vaccine consultant at Advantage Bio Consultants in South Dakota.

If the virus got out, it could have decimated poultry populations and cost billions of dollars. Keith Haffer, Advantage Bio Consultants, South Dakota

The smuggled virus was an H9N2 strain, less virulent than the H5N1 virus that has claimed 57 lives in Asia since 2003. But low- virulence strains can rapidly mutate to become deadly. In 1983, the low-virulence H5N2 strain evolved into a highly pathogenic strain within six months in Pennsylvania, forcing authorities to kill 17 million birds at a cost of nearly $65 million.

These viruses can also occasionally be transmitted to people. According to the World Health Organization, an H9 virus infected two people in Hong Kong in 1999 and one in 2003, causing mild illness.

The Maine case came to light in 2002, when a whistleblower sparked a federal investigation that found widespread illegal activity at the lab. Investigators discovered that the company's employees had changed vaccine labels to minimize import costs for overseas clients and altered vaccine expiration dates. In July, four former executives of the company were sentenced to fines up to $30,000 and a year in jail. The company is now under new management and says that it is in full compliance with the law.

To bring infectious agents into the country, companies are required to obtain permits from the US Department of Agriculture. The agency may deny permits for dangerous bugs not found in the US. In April 2005, the agency stipulated that certain agents and toxins can only be sent to people who are registered to receive them. But stopping someone from illegally importing a virus, says Suzan Holl, a spokeswoman for the agency, is "almost impossible."