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More Forgotten Vials of Deadly Diseases Discovered
schwit1 (797399) writes FDA officials now admit that when they discovered six undocumented vials of smallpox in a facility in Maryland they also found 327 additional vials that contained dengue, influenza, and rickettsia. "FDA scientists said they have not yet confirmed whether the newly disclosed vials actually contained the pathogens listed on their labels. The agency is conducting a nationwide search of all cold storage units for any other missing samples. Investigators destroyed 32 vials containing tissue samples and a non-contagious virus related to smallpox. Several unlabeled vials were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing and the remaining 279 samples were shipped to the Department of Homeland Security for safekeeping." The FDA's deputy director is quoted with what might be the understatement of the year. "The reasons why these samples went unnoticed for this long is something we're actively trying to understand."
So, the department that pretends to keep me safe on airplanes is now also the one that pretends to keep me safe from deadly airborne pathogens?
Why is the CDC not holding on to these for safekeeping? Their obvious failure here notwithstanding, I'd think that this is more their bailiwick than DHS's.
Take it to the limit, everybody to the limit, come on, everybody fhqwhgads.
Keys, TV remote control, coins, vials of Ebola,
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
that we have lasted this long with this much man-made and man-sustained incompetence around every corner and hiding in the back of so many closets.
...they will discover Scully's tissue samples in that hidden file cabinet.
Does no one in the federal government have a smartphone? Why are there no pictures of the vials being pulled from dusty refrigerators?
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Just to be safe and all that.
Why is homeland security getting shipped 279 samples and not the CDC to destroy them?
it seems the federal governments MO these days.
first you lie "it was a movie!!!"
when you get caught, you only admit the small details of what you got caught with "well, it was only a rogue agent, it was not sent down from above"
then you drag it out as long as you can "we are having internal investigations to ensure this isolated incident does not ever happen again"
Then you get caught in more than you initially got caught in "well, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!!!!"
then you make up more lies to cover up the lies that you got caught in to begin with (all while blaming the other political party for witch hunts, eventhough they have been right)
This seems to be the case for the IRS, the DOJ, the FBI, the NSA, the white house etc. I would be more shocked if they told us no, that really was just a single vial, and it be truthful
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Hopefully they don't find any vials of Captain Trips.
Any responsible person would have destroyed them immediately where they are. I'm sure those labs have the facilities to do that safely. They can be lost in shipment or broken and released.
Wow, they really need to clean up their storage lockers more often. That being said, I don't know how they lost track of them unless it was a specific person doing research at both places and they moved their materials. I wouldn't be surprised if there are/were reams of related research materials.
So glad I no longer work in that office.
What the flying fuck does the Obama administration have to with this? It seems, the administration is now taking the CORRECT action about something that was actually done before he ever showed up on the political scene...
When I worked in the nuclear industry we asked for hazard pay before cleaning out old lockers in case it contained the missing material that wasn't sent to Israel.
A quick search for "unsolved anthrax cases" turned up a WSJ article that mentions a facility in MD. I wonder if any connection between those cases and these "missing" vials?
FDA officials estimate the collection was assembled between 1946 and 1964 by government scientists.
Tell me again what role Obama had in this?
what does obama have to do with this particular instance? nothing (that we know of yet) however "the buck stops uhhh with me"~ obama words, not mine
the problem is that his people (his federal agencies) refuse to be honest about anything. granted we dont know enough about this issue yet to place blame, and it is not something that was his fault as they have been there before he was elected. but the point remains every other day there is some issue at the federal level, and there is a subset of voters who want to give the federal government even more power
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
"The reasons why these samples went unnoticed for this long is something we're actively trying to understand." Answer: The person looking after them wasn't moslem.
personally with the fuckup? nothing, but his agencies unwillingness to come forward with information when requested (or when it should be common sense to release information) is a joke. I wont blame obama for something that happened before he was born, but how it is handled when it comes to light is his problem as this is a federal agency.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
What the hell? These have been laying around unnoticed since the 1970s when another agency took over the building, but somehow all the blame falls on Obama...
If thats the sort of thing you are using to call Obama a half-witted president, YOU make GW look like a genius.
Next major emergency you may want to think twice about accepting "emergency blankets".
Just about everything works like this, as in, fails to work. The Postal Service employee who delivers my mail often wears pajamas and nearly ran me off the road a couple of weeks ago with my two year old in the car. Hell, the Atlanta Braves are moving out of the city in a few years. Perhaps it's no coincidence that The Walking Dead is filmed in Georgia. All those zombie movies may have been more realistic than we imagined.
Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
It's nice to know my taxes are well spent on competent people that are productive and efficient.
personally with the fuckup? nothing, but his agencies unwillingness to come forward with information when requested (or when it should be common sense to release information) is a joke. I wont blame obama for something that happened before he was born, but how it is handled when it comes to light is his problem as this is a federal agency.
I'm confused. The CDC finds a screwup, instantly reports it, and your complaint is they don't release information?
...for so long.
I'm going with some agency who considered obscurity and secrecy to be effective means of insuring safety neglected to pass on the details of what they were securing to the appropriate agencies that were taking over the care and handling of these vials. That and the agency taking over the care and handling never bothered to review what information was being handed over, and possibly discarded and destroyed the records when they met the agencies 'retain until' date for some category that those records were filed under.
You never know...
So many thrillers about deadly viruses show complex plots, with various twists and turns, murder, bribery, blackmail to get a few vials of those deadly little bugs, when in reality it's so simple ...
And this is exactly what will happen at the NBAF [ON A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, FFS] in a handful of years, for man is a sloppy, lazy beast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bio_and_Agro-Defense_Facility
Should be thanking Truman here, not Obama.