There's trouble in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One of its lab technicians may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus after a mix-up.
The agency confirmed the issue on Wednesday, December 24. The incident happened around Tuesday when two vials of the virus had been delivered to the agency located in Atlanta, Georgia. While one has an inactive sample, the other is active. The material to be worked on was sealed on a plate, but it ended up in the lab of a technician.
According to the CDC, only a small portion had been worked on by the lab technician and that there's no outside risk, which means the virus has just been contained within the lab premises. Nevertheless, they are taking extra precaution by subjecting the technician to a 21-day quarantine to monitor for any symptoms. So far, the technician, whose name has not been revealed yet, has not shown any symptoms.
Other members of staff of the agency have also been informed, although they weren't quarantined or subject for monitoring.
Tom Frieden, current agency director, expressed his deep concern over what happened. He's already instructed a team to perform an investigation over what happened and implement measures whenever necessary.
It has been quite a while since the last Ebola incident in the United States. One of the last patients was Dr. Martin Salia, who was infected of the virus while working in Sierra Leone. He was brought to the country after his condition worsened but later died in a Nebraska facility.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), there are already almost 20,000 reported cases of Ebola, most of which are in West Africa such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, although the problem is believed to be improving in Sierra Leone. Death toll is more than 7,500. In a desperate attempt to control it, Sierra Leone has just canceled the holidays.