Congress probes how labs handle lethal germs Incidents at labs run by CDC, other

[Guest guest]

Congress probes how labs handle lethal germs

Incidents at labs run by CDC, others raise concern

Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA*

By LARRY MARGASAK

Associated Press

Published on: 10/03/07

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/10/03/labgerms_1003

..html

Washington — American laboratories handling the world's deadliest

germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and

missing shipments since 2003, and the number is increasing as more

labs do the work.

The House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee plans

hearings Thursday on the issue. The lab incidents have sparked

bipartisan concern.

• More Nation/World news

• More Science news

" It may be only a matter of time before our nation has a public

health incident with potentially catastrophic results, " said Rep.

Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the panel's chairman.

No one died, and regulators said the public was never at risk during

the incidents. But the cases reflect poorly on procedures and

oversight at high-security labs, some of which work with organisms

and poisons that can cause illnesses with no cure. In some cases,

labs have failed to report accidents as required by law.

The mishaps include workers bitten or scratched by infected animals,

skin cuts, needle sticks and more, according to a review of

confidential reports to federal regulators. The accidents involved

anthrax, bird flu virus, monkeypox and plague-causing bacteria at 44

labs in 24 states.

The number of accidents has risen steadily. Through August, labs

reported 36 accidents and lost shipments during 2007 — nearly double

the number reported during all of 2004.

Likewise, the number of labs approved to handle the deadliest

substances has nearly doubled to 409 since 2004, and there are now

15 of the highest-security labs. Federal regulators inspect labs

just once every three years, but accidents trigger interim

inspections.

In a new report, congressional investigators said little is known

about labs that aren't federally funded or don't work with dangerous

substances the government monitors most closely.

Responsibility spread

" No single federal agency ... has the mission to track the overall

number of these labs in the United States, " said the Government

Accountability Office report, expected to be released this

week. " Consequently, no agency is responsible for determining the

risks associated with the proliferation of these labs. "

Thursday's congressional hearing on the labs comes in the wake of an

hour-long power outage this summer at CDC's new infectious disease

lab in Atlanta and as the University of Georgia in Athens is one of

five finalists for a major new federal animal disease lab called the

National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

A senior CDC official, Dr. Besser, said his agency is

committed to ensuring that U.S. labs are safe and that all such

incidents are disclosed to the government.

He said he was unaware of any risk to the public resulting from

infections among workers at the high-security labs, but he

acknowledged that regulators are worried about unreported accidents.

" If you're asking if it's possible for someone to not report an

infection, and have it missed, that clearly is a concern that we

have, " Besser said.

Lab accidents have affected the outside world: Britain's health and

safety agency concluded there was a " strong probability " a leaking

pipe at a British lab making vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease was

the source of an outbreak in livestock this year. Britain suspended

exports of livestock, meat and milk products and destroyed

livestock. The disease does not infect humans.

Accidents aren't the only concern. While medical experts consider it

unlikely that a lab employee will become sick and infect others,

these labs have strict rules to prevent theft of organisms or toxins.

Among the previously undisclosed accidents:

• In Decatur, a worker at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory

handled a Brucella culture in April 2004 without high-level

precautions. She became feverish months later and tested positive

for exposure at a hospital emergency room in July. She eventually

returned to work. The lab's confidential report defended her: " The

technologist is a good laboratorian and has good technique. "

• In Rockville, Md., ferret No. 992, inoculated with bird flu virus,

bit a technician at Bioqual Inc. on the right thumb in July. The

worker was quarantined for five days and directed to wear a mask to

protect others.

• An Oklahoma State University lab in December could not account for

a dead mouse inoculated with bacteria that causes joint pain,

weakness, lymph node swelling and pneumonia. The lab said an

employee " must have forgotten to remove the dead mouse from the

cage " before the cage was sterilized.

• In Albuquerque, N.M., an employee at the Lovelace Respiratory

Research Institute was bitten by an infected monkey in September

2006. The animal was ill from an infection of bacteria that causes

plague. " When the gloves were removed, the skin appeared to be

broken in two or three places, " the report said. The worker was

referred to a doctor, but nothing more was disclosed.

• In Fort , Colo., a worker at a CDC facility found three

broken vials of Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus in 2004.

Wearing only a laboratory coat and gloves, he used tweezers to

remove broken glass and moved the materials to a special container.

The virus, a potential bio-warfare agent, could cause brain

inflammation and is supposed to be handled in a lab requiring

pressure suits that resemble spacesuits. The report did not say

whether the worker became ill.

Leaks, lost shipments

Other reports describe leaks of contaminated waste, dropped

containers with cultures of bacteria and viruses, and defective

seals on airtight containers.

Some recount missing or lost shipments, including plague bacteria

that was supposed to be delivered to the Armed Forces Institute of

Pathology in 2003. The wayward plague shipment was discovered

eventually in Belgium and incinerated safely.

The reports must be submitted to regulators whenever a lab suffers a

theft, loss or release of any of 72 substances known as " select

agents " — a government list of germs and toxins that represent the

horror stories of the world's worst medical tragedies for humans and

animals..

Rules for working in the labs are tough and are getting more

restrictive as the bio-safety levels rise. The highest is Level 4,

where labs study substances that pose a high risk of life-

threatening disease for which no vaccine or therapy is available.

Besides wearing full-body, air-supplied suits, workers undergo

extensive background checks and carry special identification cards.

" The risk that a killer agent could be set loose in the general

population is real, " said Hammond, who runs the Sunshine

Project, which has tracked incidents at other labs for years.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Alison Young contributed

to this article.

[Guest guest]

Isn't one of those biowarfare labs right next door to " Old Lyme,

Connecticut " ?