State Scientific and Control Institute of Biotechnology and Microorganism Strains

History

2021: Ex-employee of the institute found vials with a dangerous virus

In June 2021, it became known that the theft of strains of avian virus from the Ukrainian State Scientific Control Institute of Biotechnology and strains of microorganisms. These are pathogens of contagious animal diseases, which can spread rapidly on a significant scale regardless of state borders.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, a former employee of the institute, who monitored the storage of production and control strains of viruses in the national center, took out vials with a strain of Newcastle poultry disease from the laboratory. Moreover, in order to hide the traces, she acted scientifically - deliberately reduced the number of initial samples to obtain a new passage of the virus - infection of a sensitive cell in order to obtain a new virus population from it.

Ex-employee of the Ukrainian Institute of Biotechnology found vials with a dangerous virus

As it turned out during the search, the former head kept strains of a particularly dangerous disease at home in the refrigerator and planned to sell them.. At the same time, as indicated by the Prosecutor General's Office, the Newcastle bird disease virus is able to spread rapidly on a significant scale regardless of state borders.

A case has been instituted under Part 2 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (seizure of someone else's property by abuse of official position). A detainee may face restriction of liberty for  up to  five years. By June 10, 2021, the issue of  choosing a suspect preventive measure is being decided.

"By her actions, the former employee damaged the State Scientific Control Institute of Biotechnologies and Strains of Microorganisms," the prosecutor's office said.

Newcastle bird disease (pseudomumum) is easily transmitted among poultry and is considered very dangerous. When it is identified, it is usually practiced to destroy the entire number of birds in the farm, where cases of the disease have been identified.^[1]

Notes