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CDC Closes Anthrax, Flu Labs After Potentially Deadly Mix-Ups Come to Light
In the wake of two potentially deadly accidents, the CDC yesterday announced the temporary closure of both the anthrax and flu research labs at the agency's Atlanta headquarters. The New York Times reports:
In one episode last month, at least 62 C.D.C. employees may have been exposed to live anthrax bacteria after potentially infectious samples were sent to laboratories unequipped to handle them. Employees not wearing protective gear worked with bacteria that were supposed to have been killed but may not have been. All were offered a vaccine and antibiotics, and the agency said it believed no one was in danger. “We have a high degree of confidence that no one was exposed,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the C.D.C. director. Credit David Goldman/Associated Press In a second accident, disclosed Friday, a C.D.C. lab accidentally contaminated a relatively benign flu sample with a dangerous H5N1 bird flu strain that has killed 386 people since 2003. Fortunately, a United States Agriculture Department laboratory realized that the strain was more dangerous than expected and alerted the C.D.C. ... The anthrax and flu labs will remain closed until new procedures are imposed, Frieden said. For the flu lab, that will be finished in time for vaccine preparation for next winter’s flu season, he said.
That is what should happen surely?
As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.
"People that do stupid things with dangerous objects often die."
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
If you think mistakes and carelessness are rare with level four viruses, I recommend The Hot Zone by Richard Preston.
If you remember you have something to live for, it will keep you up nights.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
The handling of deadly disease agents should be privatized and put into the hands of industry as soon as possible! Let the free market solve the problem!
And then everyone dies.
I really, realy hope you aren't this stupid - anthrax spores can probably be cultured from the dirt in your backyard by any competent undergrad microbiology student.... sticking our head the sand and saying "LALALALALALALALA" works about as well in bacteriology as it does for global warming, the NSA, Wall Street corruption, etc.
Really hoping I've been Godwin-d.
> Employees not wearing protective gear worked with bacteria that were supposed to have been killed but may not have been.
So the employees didn't use protective gear during their work, and that got them slated for a killing? I can understand trying to contain an outbreak, but one would think they should have been quarantined and tested for infection before commencement with the killing. Who's in charge of this mickey mouse operation anyway?
"Employees not wearing protective gear worked with bacteria that were supposed to have been killed but may not have been."
The Employees were supposed to have been killed? Now which Three-Letter-Angency is responsible for that?
"Twice half-assed makes an ass whole." --Solomon K. Chang
YOu mean when an issue came to light the immediately started working on it to see that it's fixed?
Yes, that is government system at work,
Why do idiots like you thing privatized health care doesn't have incidents? oh right, because private companies can hush it up where as government entities have to be far more open.
Had this been private company, do you think you would have heard of it?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
In British law we have the slightly perverse sight of government instutition being charged in their own right - without the need to identify an individual. The outcome is fines paid by one part of government to another, but it does focus the leadership to get it right (my own police force has at least one conviction for health and safety violations arising from the death of police office).
When you live with a situation that the world labels 'dangerous' and nothing happens, it's hard to keep believing its really dangerous. This is why deterrent sentences on criminals don't have much effect; people get used to the idea, and carry on living in the same way regardless of the risk. Sad but true!
If the law has been broken, then it is always chargeable as a offence, even if it's as a result of stupidity not criminal intent. The alternative is that ignorance becomes an absolute defence, which makes no sense.
The problem, of course, is that if there is no meaningful accountability, then there's no incentive to get it right. UK unions are attempting to get a named company director liable for health and safety violations to encourage compliance, but the reality is that it's so difficult to do that the outcome is liable to be that nobody would accept the job. By contrast the National Health Service is trying to encourage 'no blame' reporting of errors, but there the ambulance chasing lawyers turn up and make it undesirable to admit errors for a different reason Thanks for making me think!