My Washington Times column for this week has posted. I hope you like it. Please Tweet, Facebook, Blog and spread the word! Thanks!
Washington Times: BRUCE: Sloppy scenario at the CDC
Only government would leave deadly anthrax in an unlocked fridge
From a very informative congressional hearing, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported the revelation that the CDC had been warned for years about the “sloppy handling of pathogens.” The institute’s problem of carelessness apparently isn’t limited to the one unfortunate incident of 80 CDC workers becoming exposed to anthrax after an incautious lab-to-lab transfer.
In fact, New York magazine reported results of a separate audit of the CDC, which found the lab had been “transferring dangerous materials in Ziploc bags, storing anthrax in unlocked refrigerators in an unrestricted hallway, and misplacing anthrax containers.”
Not. Kidding.
If my Pathlab had those occurrences and repeated violations over years, we would be shut down by the government.