The director of the lab responsible for the anthrax exposure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Atlanta-based Roybal campus was reassigned.
The controversy erupted last week when as many as 86 employees were exposed to live anthrax samples on June 13. The samples, thought to be inactivated, were sent from the bioterror lab to other labs that did not have the proper protective equipment to handle active anthrax. The employees who were potentially exposed are being given vaccinations and antibiotics.
Reuters reports exclusively that Michael Farrell, the head of the lab responsible for the exposure, was reassigned during the CDC's investigation. Farrell was the director of the Bioterror Rapid Response and Advanced Technology Laboratory.
Two scientists told Reuters that frequent complaints were made about the lack of information available to the CDC staff about the exposure. Staff received an email from the director of CDC, Dr. Thomas Frieden, with apologies for the wait.
In the email, which was obtained by Reuters, Frieden says "We waited too long to inform the broader CDC workforce," Frieden says in the email. Reuters obtained access to the email sent to staff on Friday, June 20.
The issue was determined to be the inadequate inactivation of the anthrax samples on the part of the bioterror lab, which is biosafety level three. The labs of those exposed to the bacterial plates were in labs with lower biosafety levels. The bioterror lab was evidently working on a method to kill anthrax.
In a statement released last week by the CDC, the center said, "CDC's guiding principles for laboratory work are to ensure the safety of all staff and the community and be as transparent as possible about our work as we conduct high-quality scientific research to protect people in this country and around the world."
The tubes containing the live anthrax bacteria were shaken and opened, according to the CDC. Thus the center is taking precautions for possible exposure of anthrax in the air, which can spread quickly, and is working on decontamination procedures.
Scientists told Reuters that the amount of anthrax sent to the lower-level biosafety labs was very small, and that the risk is low.
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told Reuters that thus far the tests have come back negative for anthrax transmission.
