US - Live anthrax samples mistakenly shipped to all 50 states and 9 countries - concerns also involve plague bacteria and Encephalitis

[Pathfinder]

Pentagon says ?live anthrax? inadvertently shipped across US

Published May 27, 2015FoxNews.com
(AP)

The Pentagon revealed Wednesday that "live anthrax" was shipped, apparently by accident, from a lab in Utah to as many as nine states.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren assured "there is no known risk to the general public" and said an investigation is under way. But a defense official also told Fox News it is unknown at this time whether anyone was exposed to the live samples.

All samples are in the process of being collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The material in question was prepared at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, as part of what was described as a "routine" research process. It was then sent out to Defense Department and commercial labs in nine states -- the shipments were supposed to include only inactive, or dead, anthrax when they were transferred.

"These were supposed to be dead spores anthrax, called AG-1," the defense official said.

But a private lab in Maryland, on May 22, informed the CDC that they thought the samples contained live anthrax. The CDC then informed the Defense Department.
...
The states that received the shipments are: Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, California and Virginia.

...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...live-anthrax-inadvertently-shipped-across-us/

 

[Emily]

[h=1]Live anthrax shipped to Maryland lab
By Sylvia Carignan[/h] ...
The CDC started an investigation after a private commercial lab requested a technical consultation. The lab was working with the Department of Defense to develop a diagnostic test for biological threats, CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said. ?Although an inactivated agent was expected, the lab reported they were able to grow live Bacillus anthracis [anthrax bacteria],? he said...

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_05693059-3420-528b-ba31-1c00c1c57e59.html

 

[Pathfinder]

US | Thu May 28, 2015 12:38pm EDT Related: U.S., HEALTH

U.S. Army chief says no human error seen in anthrax mishap

WASHINGTON | BY PHIL STEWART

U.S. personnel working at an Army facility in Utah appeared to follow correctly all the outlined procedures to inactivate anthrax before they mistakenly shipped off live samples of the deadly bacteria, the Army's top general said on Thursday.

Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno said investigators were now reviewing the procedures themselves to determine why the bacteria was not rendered inactive.

"The best I can tell there was not human error," Odierno told reporters, cautioning that his information was based solely on preliminary reports.

U.S. officials disclosed on Wednesday that U.S. Army facilities mistakenly shipped live anthrax bacteria to laboratories in nine states and an air base in South Korea.

The Pentagon has said there was no known suspected infection or risk to the public.

But four U.S. civilians have started taking preventive measures called post-exposure prophylaxis, which usually includes the anthrax vaccine, antibiotics or both.

Twenty-two personnel at the base in South Korea were also given precautionary medical measures although none have shown sign of exposure.
...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/28/us-usa-miltary-anthrax-idUSKBN0OC2KU20150528

 

[Pathfinder]

Live Anthrax Samples Mistakenly Shipped to Nine States, South Korea
...
By JULIAN E. BARNES
Updated May 28, 2015 8:39 a.m. ET

Live samples of anthrax were inadvertently sent from a Defense Department research facility to labs in nine states as well as a military base in South Korea, but there were no confirmed incidents of exposure to the bacteria, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
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The sample sent to Osan Air Base in South Korea was destroyed, but in a statement, the U.S. military in South Korea said 22 personnel may have been exposed to the sample at the base. All were given medical treatment, including antibiotics and vaccinations. None have shown any symptoms of exposure, the military said.
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The samples, from a batch of anthrax labeled AG-1, were sent by commercial overnight shipping companies from March 2014 through March 30 of this year. That batch was supposed to have been exposed to gamma radiation to render it inert, officials said. Half of the batch remained at Dugway, and half was divided and sent to various labs.

A civilian, commercial lab in Maryland, which first received a sample in March 2014, realized a year later that the sample contained live spores. The lab then contacted the CDC. The military tested the remaining AG-1 sample at Dugway and confirmed that the anthrax was still live.
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The CDC didn?t respond to questions about the investigation.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/live-anthrax-samples-mistakenly-shipped-to-nine-states-1432759253

 

[Pathfinder]

U.S. military to 9 states

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 3:45 PM ET, Thu May 28, 2015

Washington (CNN)Four lab workers in the United States and up to 22 overseas have been put in post-exposure treatment after the U.S. military inadvertently shipped live anthrax samples -- some via FedEx -- to locations in nine states, a defense official told CNN.

Twenty-two shipments of live anthrax made their way out of military facilities and into labs across the country, as well as to a U.S. base in South Korea. The shipments happened over a one-year period between March 2014 and March of this year.
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At least some of the live anthrax samples were sent via FedEx, according to a Defense Department official. The shipments, because they were thought to be dead, were shipped under less rigorous conditions than the live agent protocol.
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Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said one sample was also sent to the Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition Program at Osan Air Base in South Korea.
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Up to 22 people in a training laboratory were potentially exposed and were receiving treatment, according to a statement from the base, including five active duty Air Force members, 10 active duty Army members, three civilian officials and four contractors, a defense official said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/27/politics/live-anthrax-us-military-sent-inadvertently/index.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Mistaken Anthrax Shipments Still Being Located
May 28, 2015, 3:28 PM ET
By LUIS MARTINEZ

...
The anthrax distributed to the 18 laboratories originated in one milliliter of live anthrax known as AG1 that was irradiated on March 18, 2014, a Defense Department official told ABC News.

The irradiation was supposed to have left the sample fully inactivated, but subsequent testing has shown it still left some live spores in the sample, the official said.

Over the course of the next 12 months, the Dugway facility provided samples of the AG1 batch to 18 private and academic laboratories in nine states as well as a U.S. military laboratory in South Korea. Each of the institutions was provided samples of the AG1 anthrax for various forms of anthrax research or product development.

On April 29, 2015, the military?s Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center in Maryland shipped some of the AG1 anthrax to eight companies in six states, according to the Pentagon. It was a private company in Maryland that notified the CDC on May 22 that it had received live anthrax as part of that shipment.
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Stanford University confirmed today that its medical school had received a vial of anthrax last July, but that it had not been used by school personnel since it was initially received 10 months ago.
...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mistaken-anthrax-shipments-located/story?id=31370326

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Stanford University Statement:

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/may/stanford-lab-statement-052815.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Tough Spores May Explain Anthrax Blunder, Experts Say

by MAGGIE FOX

...
The spores are so tough, and so tiny, that the irradiation procedure used to deactivate the spores might not have killed every single one.

John Peterson, a microbiology professor who works with anthrax at the University of Texas Medical Branch, says the X-rays or gamma rays used to kill anthrax spores might not get every little one.

"They were most likely inactivated but that the inactivation process may not have been complete," he told NBC News. Anthrax spores are only about 1 micron in diameter and a sample could contain 10 billion individual spores, he said.

"If a procedure kills 99.999 percent of the bacteria, there would still be 100,000 spores left viable," he says. "They are very difficult to kill."

That's why, even though anthrax is not terribly infectious and is not fatal if it gets treated in time, is considered a potential biological weapon.

The tough spores can be dispersed into the air and linger for months or even years, putting people at risk of infection.
...

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...y-explain-anthrax-blunder-experts-say-n366151

 

[Emily]

Official: 22 people 'may have been exposed' to anthrax sample at S. Korea base

Published May 29, 2015 FoxNews.com

Twenty-two people "may have been exposed" to an anthrax sample sent to a U.S. Air Force base in South Korea and are being treated, a senior defense official told Fox News -- in the latest "precautionary measure" being taken after the Defense Department's "inadvertent" shipment of live anthrax samples.
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Of the 22 people in South Korea who might have been exposed, five are with the U.S. Air Force, 10 are with the U.S. Army, three are government contractors and four are civilians, the defense official said.
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But on May 22, a private lab called the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Gunpowder, Md., informed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that they thought their samples contained live anthrax. The CDC then informed the Defense Department.
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After notified by the Army, each lab in the nine states has locked down the samples.The states that received the shipments are: Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, California and Virginia. Warren said the DoD has also "stopped the shipment of this material from its labs pending completion of the investigation."...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...itary-mistake/

Watchful Eyes

After two years of preparation the JUPITR Operational Demonstration is poised to illustrate a means for detection, protection and early warning of Biological Agent exposure on the Korean Peninsula.

By ECBC Public Affairs | May 26th, 2015

On March 30, a caravan packed to capacity with biological detection equipment pulled away from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland to start a cross-country road trip to Travis Air Base in California.
From California, the two tons of equipment was loaded onto a Military Aircraft and sent nearly 9,000 miles away to Osan Air Base in the Republic of Korea (ROK), where scientists and engineers anxiously awaited its arrival. The globe-trotting equipment will be demonstrated at the Joint United States Forces Korea [USFK] and Integrated Threat Recognition Program (JUPITR) Operational Demonstration, where all of the equipment and facilities tested over the past two years will be demonstrated by the user community in a seven-day scenario-based event.
The JUPITR program is an effort to develop unique biological detection capabilities on the Korean Peninsula to address the demand for stronger biosurveillance. The program is led by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO) and supported by the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC)....

xhttp://www.ecbc.army.mil/news/2015/watchful-eyes.html

A Snafu if there ever was one!

 

[Pathfinder]

Army Finds Another Batch of Live Anthrax

by JIM MIKLASZEWSKI
TOPICS HEALTH NEWS, MILITARY
FIRST PUBLISHED MAY 29 2015, 9:36 AM ET

How Was an Army Lab Able to Send Live Anthrax Through the Mail? 2:26 (video)

Another batch of live anthrax has turned up - this one from the same batch as samples sent to Australia from the Army's Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah.
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This does not necessarily mean the samples sent to the lab in Australia contained live anthrax spores, the officials say. They've been testing samples thought to have been inactivated ever since it turned out Dugway had sent potentially live spores to labs in nine states and an air base in South Korea.
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U.S. military and health officials are trying to figure out how anthrax from a batch containing live spores got sent to labs in nine states, Australia and South Korea. Here's what you need to know about the blunder:

More...

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/what-you-need-know-about-anthrax-blunder-n366626

 

[Pathfinder]

US | Fri May 29, 2015 1:56pm EDT Related: U.S., HEALTH, AUSTRALIA

Live anthrax found in U.S. military shipment to Australia: official

WASHINGTON | BY PHIL STEWART

An investigation of a U.S. military facility's mistaken shipments of live anthrax bacteria has turned up another live sample, this one from a 2008 batch sent to Australia, a U.S. defense official said on Friday.

The disclosure, if confirmed, suggests the possibility of a broader problem among anthrax samples meant to have been made inactive at the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.
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Little is known about the sample sent to Australia, including the type of laboratory that received it. The U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sample was tested after the latest disclosure as part of the ongoing investigation into the handling of anthrax samples.

The Pentagon declined comment, saying it was trying to gather facts.

It was unclear how many other samples from Dugway have been tested or what the results of those tests are.
...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/29/us-usa-military-anthrax-idUSKBN0OE1ZM20150529

 

[Pathfinder]

FedEx Statement on DOD Anthrax Shipment

May 28, 2015

We can confirm that FedEx transported shipments for the Department of Defense (DOD) from the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. All shipments have been safely delivered to their destinations without incident, and we?re confident that none of the shipments compromised the health or safety of our employees or customers. We are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure appropriate shipping protocols, policies and regulations are followed by the DOD on future shipments.

http://about.van.fedex.com/newsroom/united-states-english/fedex-statement-on-dod-anthrax-shipment/

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CDC investigating unintentional DoD shipment of anthrax

Media Statement

For Immediate Release: Friday, May 29, 2015
Contact: Media Relations, Office of Communication
(404) 639-3286

CDC is investigating the unintentional transfer of anthrax from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to labs in multiple states and overseas. At this time we do not suspect any risk to the general public.

The CDC investigation was started after a request for technical consultation from a private commercial lab. The lab was working as part of a DOD effort to develop a new diagnostic test to identify biological threats. Although an inactivated agent was expected, the lab reported they were able to grow live Bacillus anthracis.

CDC is working in conjunction with DoD and other federal and state partners to conduct an investigation with all the labs that received samples from the DoD. The ongoing investigation includes determining if the labs also received other live samples, epidemiologic consultation, worker safety review, laboratory analysis, and handling of laboratory waste.

All samples involved in the investigation are being securely transferred to CDC or Laboratory Response Network (LRN) laboratories for further testing. CDC has sent officials from the CDC Federal Select Agent Program to the DOD labs to conduct onsite investigations.

Updates will continue to be provided as the investigation progresses.

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/s0529-anthrax-shipment.html
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DoD Launches Review of Lab Procedures Involving Anthrax

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2015 ? The Defense Department is launching a comprehensive review of its laboratory procedures, processes, and protocols associated with inactivating spore-forming anthrax, according to a DoD news release issued today.

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work today ordered the review after consulting with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the release said.

No Risk to the General Public

There is no known risk to the general public and an extremely low risk to lab workers from the department's inadvertent shipments of inactivated samples containing small numbers of live anthrax to several laboratories, according to the release.

As of now, 24 laboratories in 11 states and two foreign countries are believed to have received suspect samples, the release said.

The department is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is leading the ongoing investigation pursuit to its statutory authorities, the release said.
Monitoring the Situation

The department will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates to the public, the release said.

In addition to the CDC review, Work ordered all DoD laboratories that have these materials to test all previously inactivated spore-forming anthrax in the inventory, the release said.

DoD also is advising labs that received inactive anthrax from the department to stop working with those samples until further instruction from the DoD and CDC, the release said.
Comprehensive DoD Review

Work directed Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall to lead a comprehensive review of DoD laboratory procedures, processes, and protocols associated with inactivating anthrax, according to the release.

The DoD review, the release said, will consist of:

-- Root cause analysis for the incomplete inactivation of anthrax;
-- DoD laboratory biohazard safety procedures and protocols;
-- Laboratory adherence to established procedures and protocols; and
-- Identification of systemic problems and the steps necessary to fix those problems.

After the CDC investigation is complete, the department will conduct its own investigation with respect to any apparent lapses in performance and ensure appropriate accountability, the release said.

The department takes this matter very seriously and is acting with urgency to address this matter, the release said.

Work expects review findings within 30 days, the release said.
...

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128939

 

[Emily]

[h=1]Carter Apologizes for Secret Anthrax Shipments to South Korea[/h]
Jun 01, 2015 | by Richard Sisk
... Under the U.S.-South Korea Status of Forces agreement, the U.S. was not obligated to notify South Korea of the shipment because the anthrax sample was believed to be inert, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.
... In an editorial, the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest circulation newspaper, said the U.S. was justified in training against biological agents but "the problem is that the South Korean government was oblivious to the entry of such a deadly substance."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...-secret-anthrax-shipments-to-south-korea.html

[h=3]Madison lab mistakenly sent anthrax hopes to reopen next week[/h] Posted: Monday, June 1, 2015 6:13 PM EDT Updated: Monday, June 1, 2015 6:13 PM EDT
MADISON (WKOW)
...

Lustig also says two employees at the lab were given precautionary treatment for anthrax, but says they are fine. Previous reports have indicated only one employee received that treatment.

http://www.wkow.com/story/29211255/...akenly-sent-anthrax-hopes-to-reopen-next-week

That makes 28 getting treatment: 22 in S. Korea, 4 in Maryland and 2 in Wisconsin. Hope they will be OK. The FDA has just agreed to meet with Cipro survivors and start investigating the drug's safety.

 

[Pathfinder]

Pentagon: 51 labs in 17 states with questionable anthrax

By Jeremy Diamond and Barbara Starr, CNN
Updated 3:39 PM ET, Wed June 3, 2015

Washington (CNN)The Pentagon may have unintentionally shipped live anthrax samples to 51 labs in 17 states and the District of Columbia, as well as three foreign countries, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work announced Wednesday.
...
There have been "no suspected or confirmed cases of anthrax infections" as a result of the shipments, Work said
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The department is testing over 400 batches, with live anthrax found so far in four of those batches.

"That is why the numbers may rise," Work said, adding that it takes 10 days to test anthrax samples.
...
CNN has been exclusively shown a document detailing the location of the anthrax shipments that came from three lots at Dugway Proving Ground dating back to 2007. In addition to sites within the United States, Canada, South Korea and Australia might also have received live anthrax shipments.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/03/polit...7-states-with-questionable-anthrax/index.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Pentagon Now Says Army Mistakenly Sent Live Anthrax to All 50 States

Military.comSep 01, 2015 | by Richard Sisk
...
The number of labs that received live anthrax has more than doubled to 194 since Work and Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's top acquisition official, released a report in July on the shipments of the deadly pathogen from the Army's Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah.

The number of states receiving live anthrax also more than doubled to include all 50 states and Washington, D.C., plus Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The number of countries that received live anthrax went up from seven to nine -- Japan, United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Norway and Switzerland, according to the Pentagon's updated accounting of the shipments through Sept. 1.

There have been no deaths or serious illnesses reported from the military's 10-year program to ship anthrax to private and military labs for testing to develop vaccines and detection devices, according to the Defense Department.

However, at least 31 military and civilian personnel were treated with antibiotics as a precaution after a lab in Maryland discovered in May that a supposedly irradiated anthrax sample contained live spores.
...

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...50-states.html

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...
The DoD Review Consists of:

• Root cause analysis for the incomplete inactivation of anthrax
• Why post inactivation sterility testing did not detect the presence of live anthrax
• DoD laboratory biohazard safety procedures and protocols
• Laboratory adherence to established procedures and protocols
• Identification of systemic problems and the steps necessary to fix those problems.

Individuals Being Monitored and Receiving Post-Exposure Prophylaxis:

• 88 Primary Labs
  
  Primary Recipients from Dugway Proving Ground
• 106 Secondary Labs
  
  Secondary Recipients from Primary Recipients
• 194 Total Labs
  
  Commercial companies, academic institutions and Federal Labs
• 9 Foreign Countries
  
  Japan, United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Norway and Switzerland
• 50 States, 1 District, 3 Territories
  
  50 States, District of Columbia, 3 Territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, The U.S. Virgin Islands)
• 0 Personnel on Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)
  
  0 Non-DoD and 0 DoD employees

Current as of 1200 EDT, August 14, 2015
...
http://archive.defense.gov/home/feat...615_lab-stats/

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U.S. Army Directs Immediate Safety Review
Press Operations

Release No: NR-346-15
September 3, 2015

WASHINGTON (Sept. 3, 2015) – Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh has directed an immediate safety review at all nine Department of Defense labs and facilities involved in the production, shipment, and handling of live and inactivated select agents and toxins.

The review follows the discovery of evidence of anthrax contamination in secure areas located outside the primary containment area but still contained within the special enclosed lab for holding these materials at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. In accordance with established procedures, the Army reported this finding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It also follows findings by the CDC of incorrect or incomplete record keeping at Edgewood and USAMRIID.

This evidence of contamination was discovered during the ongoing investigation at Dugway that followed a Department of Defense comprehensive review of all policies, procedures and processes affecting the use and shipment of anthrax.

In response, the Dugway commander immediately directed a full decontamination of the biosafety area. The facility was retested and anthrax was not detected.

There is no evidence of exposure to employees and there was no risk to the general public at any time.

The Secretary of the Army is the Executive Agent for DoD Biological Select Agent and Toxin Biosafety program and acted out of an abundance of caution.

The safety review ensures labs will follow appropriate protocols for handling materials, including proper training, record-keeping, and standard operating procedures. Each lab will report back on its findings within ten days.

Additionally, the Army has expanded the existing suspension of production, handling, testing, and shipment of Anthrax to include Critical Reagents Program (CRP) and other agents and toxins. This suspension applies at all four DoD labs involved in these activities: Dugway Proving Ground Life Sciences Test Facility, Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Naval Medical Research Center Biological Defense Research Directorate.

These measures will remain in place pending completion of the ongoing review and investigation until the Army determines it is appropriate to resume operations. Specific exemptions to this policy will be judiciously reviewed and approved only in appropriate circumstances by the Secretary of the Army.

A copy of the Secretary of the Army’s safety review directive can be found here.

For more information, contact Lt. Col. Jesse Stalder at 703-693-5084, or jesse.h.stalder.mil@mail.mil.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Rel...-safety-review

 

[Pathfinder]

DoD Official: Plague Bacteria and Encephalitis Possibly Shipped

by JIM MIKLASZEWSKI and COURTNEY KUBE

Following on the news that broke earlier this year that U.S. military labs both improperly stored and shipped deadly anthrax specimens, a senior defense official told NBC News on Thursday that active samples of plague bacteria and two strains of encephalitis may also have been shipped from military labs to locations all over the world.
...
At a briefing on Thursday, press Secretary Peter Cook acknowledged that a CDC spot inspection on August 17th at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland uncovered that a sample of potentially infectious plague was mislabeled in a freezer.
...
Cook said so far they are only looking at whether the plague and encephalitis samples were mislabeled ? and he is not aware whether any were shipped around the world, unlike the anthrax samples.

But a senior defense official told NBC News they don't know whether any was shipped out and that they cannot rule it out yet.
...

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...acteria-encephalitis-possibly-shipped-n425246

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Latest military lab concerns involve plague bacteria, deadly viruses

Tom Vanden Brook and Alison Young, USA TODAY 3:31 p.m. EDT September 10, 2015

WASHINGTON ? The Pentagon's most secure laboratories may have mislabeled, improperly stored and shipped samples of potentially infectious plague bacteria, which can cause several deadly forms of disease, USA TODAY has learned.
...
There is no danger to the public from the plague and encephalitis specimens found in the labs, said Army spokesman Dov Schwartz. After extensive testing, no danger has been found to scientists and researchers who have worked with the vials, he said. Final test results are expected by the end of the month.

However, for the first time since the scandal broke in May about an Army lab's botched handling of anthrax, the Pentagon is now acknowledging that worries now extend to other lethal agents that it studies. In addition to the plague samples and some additional anthrax specimens, the CDC has raised concerns about military labs' handling of specimens created from two potentially deadly viruses that are also classified as bioterror pathogens: Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus, which can cause rare but serious illnesses in people, including deadly inflammation of the brain.
...
In a statement this week to USA TODAY, Schwartz said the CDC's concerns about the plague and encephalitis directly contributed to McHugh's ordering of the moratorium. An Aug. 17 CDC inspection at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland raised questions as to whether a strain of Yersinia pestis, the organism that causes plague, was infectious even though it was stored in an area designated for non-infectious material.
...
Lab regulators at the CDC declined to be interviewed but acknowledged they are investigating issues at the four labs and the Critical Reagents Program. "CDC has identified a number of transfers of concern involving multiple organisms," the agency said in a statement in response to USA TODAY's questions.
...
Ebright said mounting questions about biosafety practices at Pentagon labs should be a warning to researchers that they need to independently verify the specimens they receive from military labs because the ?death certificates? sent with supposedly killed samples ?are not worth the paper they?re printed on.?
...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...cimens-mistakes-plague-encephalitis/71888694/