Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Press Statement on U.S.-China Collaboration

September 8, 2006

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a WHO Collaborating Center on Influenza, regrets the recent delays in transfer of influenza virus samples from the China Ministry of Agriculture to HHS/CDC.

Following communications over the past 24 hours, import procedures for samples are now in place and we look forward to receiving the viruses characterized by the China Ministry of Agriculture.  

HHS/CDC very much appreciates the willingness of the Ministry of Agriculture to share the virus samples and is committed to working with our scientific colleagues in China to acknowledge their contributions to the world's understanding of the H5N1 influenza A virus.