Hutchinson ? A Hutchinson laboratory received doses of a potentially deadly strain of influenza that was mistakenly sent in testing kits to more than 4,000 labs around the world.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, meanwhile, was trying to determine the number of laboratories elsewhere in the state that received the virus, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the department.

The CDC has compiled and distributed a list of labs that received the virus, but some of the labs in the Kansas group are not actually in the state, and Kansas labs are listed in other states, Watson said.

“Our focus now is on verifying the list,” Watson said Friday. “We’ll follow up with the labs to ensure that they have destroyed the virus as requested.”

Laboratories are required to conduct tests of unidentified viruses several times a year to maintain certification. Testing organizations send vials of the unmarked viruses to labs and then verify the results.

On April 8, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the medical community that the H2N2 “Asian flu” virus inadvertently had been sent out with tests.

Proficiency tests routinely carry viruses stored in “germ libraries,” but for unknown reasons, the specific H2N2 type was included in the latest round of testing conducted by various organizations. The virus killed millions as part of the Asian flu pandemic in the 1950s and 1960s, the WHO said.

Dr. Verlin Janzen, who is in charge of the Hutchinson Clinic’s lab, confirmed Friday that the lab had received the sample.

“We did receive a proficiency testing sample with the H2N2 virus,” Janzen said. “The first we knew was when our proficiency testing provider informed us of this.”