Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Cann has confirmed that samples of a deadly influenza virus were sent to Bermuda last year by the College of American Pathologists ? although he stressed there was no reason for the public to be concerned by the news.

Samples of the H2N2 virus or ?Asian Flu? were included in a proficiency testing kit sent to more than 3,700 medical laboratories world-wide in November last year.

These testing kits are reportedly circulated on a regular basis by international health authorities to ensure laboratories are correctly identifying different virus strains.

Several people contacted yesterday to express their alarm at the news ? which has also received significant coverage in the international media ? and demanded reassurance that the virus had been destroyed.

Dr. Cann revealed in a Press release yesterday that all vials containing the deadly samples had been properly disposed of in line with official bio-safety regulations, following the conclusion of a series of tests in the hospital laboratory.

The Asian flu was responsible for the deaths of between one and four million people in 1957, but disappeared from circulation in 1968.

Anybody born after this date, therefore, does not possess the requisite antibodies to deal effectively with the strain ? with experts from the World Health Organisation confirming that the virus has the potential to instigate a global pandemic.

It was this fact that prompted the WHO to advise the immediate disposal of the laboratory samples.