The Denver Serum Bank.

At the University of Colorado, Dr. Gordon Meiklejohn pursed the study of influenza and other respiratory pathogens for an unbroken period of 40 years, under the auspices of the Commission on Influenza of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board through a series of contracts with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. Sera, throat washings, and other specimens for diagnosis were sent to Dr. Meiklejohn's laboratory. After serologic and virologic studies were carried out, aliquots of sera and virus samples were logged in and frozen. Sera were stored at -20°C and virus specimens at -70°C. These specimens became known as the Denver Serum Bank. The Bank supported military research programs and other researchers nationally and internationally until the 1990s when lacking of funding and considerations of administration, space, and cost resulted in the destruction of all specimens. Reprint &