The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden said the recent discovery of safety lapses pattern deeply troubling and promised to resolve the issues. There was also a report on live anthrax mishandling that involved a bird flu strain at the health agency.
House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee members mentioned new details on breaches that CDC failed to report previously. The details are under scrutiny because over 80 lab workers may potentially be exposed to live anthrax bacteria in June. However, nobody fell sick because of these lapses.
Dr. Tom Frieden was sharply questioned by the members of Congress on July 16, where he admitted that recent lab incidents that involved anthrax and flu viruses were not isolated and these form part of a bigger issue of unsafe practices at the CDC.
"We missed the broader pattern," Dr. Frieden said. "We have seen, at this point, no evidence of a cover-up, but we do see a need to strengthen the culture of safety that encourages reporting anytime there is a problem or potential problem, so we can assess it and take rapid and prompt action." He said that CDC officials used to focus narrowly on addressing specific incidents at each laboratory, failing to address systemic issues. He called the problem a critical pattern, which is an insufficient safety culture.
House Energy and Commerce Committee oversight chairman Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa. also said that laboratory safety issues seem systemic at the CDC. He cited several reports from government watchdogs from previous years and called the recent incident "inexcusable" and "sloppy." The workers sent the bacteria from one lab without it being killed off properly. It could've infected a lot of people on its way. While nobody was reported to be ill, Dr. Frieden considered this episode a tipping point that made the agency realize that its safety procedures need improvement.
The incident shows the agency's lack of right protocol and CDC is now working on the improvement of its safety culture. Government Accountability Office managing director Nancy Kingsbury said her office had previously issued numerous reports tasking the CDC to address its approach on biosafety at its laboratories.
Two CDC labs responsible for the pathogen release are closed while any sample transfers from its labs are suspended until safety protocols are properly reviewed. USDA investigators found issues with faulty equipment and lack of staff training documents.
