Anthrax

LATimes article on the 84 CDC workers who were exposed to anthrax from a lab problem.

An initial CDC review showed the lab was preparing samples of Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax, for research seeking new ways to detect pathogens, but that the lab did not “adequately inactivate the samples” before sending them along, the agency said.The protocol requires waiting 48 hours and then testing to see if spores have grown, but the lab waited only 24 hours, a CDC spokesman said. Further investigation might reveal more problems, he said.

Workers in the labs conducting the research, believing they were handling inactive B. anthracis, were not wearing gear that would adequately protect them from the live bacteria, the CDC said.