Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday that it might be impossible to trace how H9N2 avian flu samples it sent to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) lab in Athens, Ga., became cross-contaminated with the lethal H5N1 strain, Reuters reported yesterday.
The hearing revealed systemic problems and worries about the safety culture of lab workers.
The NSABB chair says delays in developing a DURC policy have been to blame.
Almost half of the board's voting members learned they will soon be replaced.
Their consensus statement calls for better tools to weigh risks and benefits.
A US House of Representatives committee that will host a hearing on Jul 16 to question federal officials on recent incidents involving anthrax bacteria and other pathogens at US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) labs today unveiled some findings from its requests for documents and testimony about the agency's biosafety issues.
In addition to recent problems with anthrax and smallpox, high-path avian flu has now entered the mix.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) director, Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, has been asked by three top Republicans on the US House Energy Committee for several types of information on the recent breach of safety protocols resulting in possible exposure of lab personnel to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, according to Reuters today.
Testing to determine whether the vials contain live virus will take 2 weeks, the CDC said.
The CDC says some lab workers can discontinue antibiotic treatment and vaccination.
