CDCThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating yet another safety incident after the agency’s influenza lab personnel reported the inadvertent contamination of an avian influenza virus sample shipped to a US Department of Agriculture facility (USDA) with the highly pathogenic H5N1. The incident, announced today (July 11), is the third safety breach within the last month, with a CDC lab seeing the release of—and potential exposure of dozens of employees to—anthrax bacteria in mid-June, followed by the discovery of six forgotten vials of smallpox virus in US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) storage this week.
Coinciding with the release of a report reviewing the anthrax incident, the CDC has placed a moratorium on movement of biological materials from biosafety level (BSL)-3 and BSL-4 facilities. Additionally, the agency announced Michael Bell, deputy director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, as its new director of lab safety, reporting directly to CDC Director Thomas Frieden.
During a press briefing today, Frieden said six weeks passed before the H5N1 contamination incident was reported to agency officials. “That kind of delay is very troubling,” Frieden said, noting that no one was exposed to the flu virus, which has since been destroyed.
Tests on the samples found in FDA storage revealed that two of the six contained viable smallpox virus, Frieden said today.
“These events ...
