CDC scientist researching Ebola may have been exposed to deadly virus

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/24/cdc-scientist-ebola-risk-exposure

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A scientist researching ebola at a federal lab in Atlanta may have been exposed to the deadly virus after a mistake in handling a sample, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Wednesday.

The unnamed technician will be put under close observation for 21 days for indications of infection, and up to a dozen other employees who entered the high-security laboratory where the accident happened will also be watched. The CDC director Dr Tom Frieden ordered a full review of the incident and expressed his unhappiness that a lapse had occurred.

“I am troubled by this incident in our ebola research laboratory in Atlanta,” he said. “No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential – the safety of our employees is our highest priority.”

The security breach, first reported by the Washington Post and the New York Times, took place on Monday at a laboratory where research is underway into the virus retrieved from the West African epidemic. According to a statement from CDC, a small amount of live virus was transferred from one secure lab to another.

It was in a sealed plate, but it should not have been moved between the secure lab environments. The mistake was discovered on Tuesday and reported to CDC chiefs within an hour.

Federal officials stressed there was no risk from the error of infecting anyone outside the secure laboratory.

Any sign of lapse controls will come as a heavy blow to CDC, not only because of the intense public sensitivity around the ebola outbreak but also because the agency has been rocked by security lapses in recent months involving lethal pathogens. In the summer it was revealed that CDC laboratories researching bioterrorism and influenza had transported anthrax, botulism bacteria and other deadly material to other sites in violation of safety rules.