The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that more vials of contagious viruses have been uncovered in the same storage room where six long-lost vials of smallpox virus were discovered last week.

The vials were sealed and stored properly and no one was exposed to their contents. "All of the items labeled as infectious agents found in the collection of samples were stored in glass, heat-sealed vials that were well-packed, intact and free of any leakage, and there is no evidence that anyone was exposed," the administration said in a statement.

The FDA said a total of 327 vials of assorted virus samples - including influenza, dengue fever, Q fever and rickettsia - were found in a third floor storage room in the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Building 29A. The discovery came a week after six vials of the smallpox virus dating back to 1954 were found in the same storage room.

Investigators said the batch of undocumented virus samples were likely placed in the storage room between 1946 and 1964, which is well before NIH began to use the building in 1972.

Though the newly discovered samples are less deadly than smallpox, authorities say they are taking the matter seriously. The FDA's director of Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Karen Midthun, was quoted as saying the mishap was "unacceptable." She added that FDA scientists are conducting a nationwide search to ensure no more undocumented virus samples exist in their labs.

Authorities also said that out of the six vials of smallpox virus found, at least two contained organisms that were still alive. Federal scientists will conduct tests to determine whether the newly discovered viruses were also still active.

Smallpox was eradicated in 1980. In 1979, an international agreement was signed between nations to destroy all samples of the smallpox virus. Currently, only two labs in the world are allowed to store the deadly virus: one in the Center of Disease Control and Prevent