Health workers that have been assigned to conduct a comprehensive search on government laboratories have turned up over half a dozen more improperly, unethically stored substances, including the lethally potent toxin, ricin, which has been known to be used in bioterrorism, and bacteria responsible for the plague. The nationwide scouring was initiated following the discovery of highly dangerous pathogens from the National Institutes of Health, and the mishandling of other deadly infectious agents, such as the bird flu virus, from another Federal facility.
The National Institutes of Health released another statement on Friday saying that the search on that Bethesda campus in recent weeks have resulted to the discovery of five different biological materials that are labeled "select agents." Biologicals classified under this category are considered dangerous because they "have the potential to post a severe threat to public, animal, or plant health, or to animal, or plant products." These materials are required by the government to be stored in secure facilities, but multiple vials of these potentially life-threatening substances were discovered in regular laboratories, often as a part of a decades old sample collection. Director of the NIH Office of Research Services, Alfred Johnson, who is also coordinating the "Clean Sweep" said that, "These things were stored in locations where they should not have been stored."
The Food and Drug Administration also reported the discovery of staphylococcal enterotoxin vials inside a laboratory within the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. This agent is the major causes of food borne illnesses, and was discovered in a facility that was not registered or authorized to handle such substances. FDA Dir. Margaret Hamburg said in an earlier interview, "I'm happy to report that in the cold room infantries across the agency, we have not found any other stocks of unexpected hazardous biological materials."
Officials in both these agencies said that they have already submitted a report of their discoveries to go to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NIH director, Francis Collins, said that, "the finding of these agents and toxins highlights the need for constant vigilance in monitory laboratory materials in compliance with federal regulations on biosafety."
