A US government lab made a mistake by mixing different strains of bird flu. The Center for Disease Control is sounding the alarm as this incident is not the first of its kind.
“These events should never have happened.” Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made no fuss when he admitted that a lab made handling errors: a harmless strain of bird flu was mixed with another highly contagious strain of H5N1 and the whole thing was sent to another laboratory under the Department of Agriculture.
No one has been endangered in this case, but US authorities are not downplaying the incident. “I am disappointed and frankly very angry,” said Tom Frieden. “I am amazed that this could have happened here.”
5 incidents in 10 years
If the affair takes on such a scale, it is because this incident is not the first of its kind. This is not the first time that an event of this nature has taken place at the CDC, nor the first time that it has taken place from the bioterrorism lab, “states a report from the health agency. Such mistakes in handling dangerous pathogens have happened five times in the past ten years. And this year alone, in the last few months, there have been many such occurrences. On June 5, no less than 80 American scientists have been exposed to the bacteria Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax. And it was while investigating this affair that the American authorities discovered “distressing problems”. Only a few days ago, vials containing the smallpox virus were also found by chance at the bottom of a box, on the premises of the United States Drug Agency (FDA).
Serious negligence also in France
In France, such disturbing events have already occurred. Last May, 2,349 SARS tubes were lost by the Institut Pasteur. The latter accused of negligence by the ministers Marisol Touraine and Benoît Hamon. If this disappearance remains a mystery, security procedures have been reinforced so that these traceability flaws do not recur. The Americans have also taken corrective action. A moratorium on the transfer of any biological sample was established and the laboratory was closed during the investigation.
.
