Fifteen years of vaccines The business of fear

From bird flu to "blue tongue" Medicines to profit from farmers. The Rome prosecutor's office has just concluded an investigation that excites managers of the Ministry of Health and managers of pharmaceutical giants. The charges range from receiving stolen goods to corruption, from the administration of medicines in a way dangerous to public health to the attempted epidemic, from extortion to abuse of office. Clandestinely imported pathogenic viruses in Cesena and then spread.

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From bird flu to blue tongue. The viruses that have infested and decimated chicken, sheep and cattle farms throughout Italy in the last 15 years may have been induced by those who wanted to profit from the production of vaccines. All by exploiting the fear that inevitably spreads among farmers and consumers when it comes to epidemics. The Rome prosecutor's office has just concluded an investigation that excites managers of the Ministry of Health and managers of pharmaceutical giants. There are 41 suspects and 3 associations identified by the deputy prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo. The charges range from receiving stolen goods to corruption, from the administration of medicines in a way dangerous to public health to the attempted epidemic, from extortion to abuse of office.

The US was the first to discover the smuggling of live avian flu virus strains with Saudi Arabia. Paolo Candoli, Italian manager of the pharmaceutical multinational Merial spa, was interrogated on March 30, 2004 by American investigators to whom he confessed to having received a virus of bird flu highly named pathogen H9. Coming from Saudi Arabia, the virus traveled by sea, hidden in ice cubes, and then arrived in Cesena in April 1999, by courier, directly to Candoli's home. Head of the virology laboratory of the National Center for avian flu, deputy in the Chamber of Civic Choice, Ilaria Capua instead it is accused of having given the viral strain of Pakistani origin called H7N3 alla Merial Italia spa «ricevendo indebitamente – si legge nel capo d’imputazione – un’imprecisata ma elevata somma di denaro da Daniela Nieddu», responsabile «Ricerca e sviluppo» della società farmaceutica. I virus H9 e H7N3 sono stati utilizzati inizialmente «per produrre in forma clandestina, senza la prescritta autorizzazione ministeriale, specialità medicinali a uso veterinario, procedendo poi alla loro commercializzazione e somministrazione sugli animali, determinando la diffusione non più controllata dell’influenza aviaria negli allevamenti avicoli del nord Italia». Tutto ciò ha provocato il contagio di 7 operatori del settore, il grave pericolo per la salute che derivava dal consumo di questa carne e l’abbattimento di milioni di polli e tacchini, con un danno stimato in 40 milioni di euro. Poi dalla clandestinità si passa al via libera del ministero della Salute. Paventando un’emergenza sanitaria i dirigenti ministeriali indagati iniziano ad autorizzare l’acquisto urgente di milioni di dosi di vaccino «per favorire – si legge nel capo d’imputazione – gli interessi economici di Merial Italia spa e Fort Dodge, in danno delle ditte concorrenti». A queste due società viene ceduto anche il brevetto del test «Diva» (che individua se un animale è positivo al virus), in cambio di denaro, royalties, regali, finanziamenti per convegni e ricerche. Incaricato alla vendita del kit diagnostico per la Fort Dodge è Richard Currie, marito di Ilaria Capua.

La Merial becomes the privileged interlocutor of the Ministry of Health also for blue-tongue, bluetongue (also known as "blue tongue") affecting sheep and cattle.

Val. Di Cor. – 16/07/2014 – THE WEATHER.it

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