5 ms·

Scary to put it lightly. You'd think that we would be more careful with such things. I could only imagine who actually found the sample, and if they even realiz

Scary to put it lightly. You'd think that we would be more careful with such things. I could only imagine who actually found the sample, and if they even realized what it was without Googling. An even worse thought would be if they were to just throw it in the trash.

ovi256 12y ago
I'm pretty sure anyone that speaks a Romance language may recognize 'variola' as smallpox. I guess the original label used the Latin name. Also, in a CDC laboratory, I'd bet dollars vs pennies there's already a protocol for handling "old badly labelled samples" that includes "not opening" and "not misplacing".
- justizin 12y ago
  yeah i don't think you throw random stuff in the trash, i'm sure they go into a bio hazard disposal.
- mikecb 12y ago
  It began at the FDA, which doesn't routinely handle substances of this type. That's why it was transferred to NIH in Bethesda temporarily while the CDC team came up from Atlanta.
  - aroch 12y ago
    Well, no, it began at the NIH. NIH handed the labs over to the FDA, and apparently missed a vial during the move.
    - mikecb 12y ago
      Ahh. Yet still, it was not found at CDC by CDC employees more likely to be trained to handle highly infectious samples.
- DanBC 12y ago
  > I'm pretty sure anyone that speaks a Romance language may recognize 'variola' as smallpox. Wait, what? Are you limiting that to people who work in an area where they might possibly come into contact with it? Because otherwise you might find it fun to ask the next hundred people you meet what "variola" is.
  - moioci 12y ago
    You realize English is not a Romance language?
nathannecro 12y ago
In general, when you come across any sample that's not yours or something whose label you can't read or don't recognize, you don't touch it at all until you can find someone who does. If you can't find anybody, you handle that sample as if it contains poison - even if it's just a long-dead colony. I assume that the CDC/FDA/NIH have more stringent protocol in place.
- maxerickson 12y ago
  Meanwhile: OFFICIALS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently discovered that at least 75 workers there had been exposed to possible anthrax infection. and Based on current reports, the problem arose when anthrax — incorrectly thought to be dead — was removed from the high-containment lab and exposed people who had no knowledge that they were in contact with live bacteria. from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/anthrax-thats-not-the-real-worry.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/anthrax-thats-not-...
  - nathannecro 12y ago
    Yeah, I read that. Just like in all disasters, the biggest contributor to catastrophic failure is human error. I'm sure the protocols were in place to prevent something like this from happening.

ovi256 12y ago

I'm pretty sure anyone that speaks a Romance language may recognize 'variola' as smallpox. I guess the original label used the Latin name. Also, in a CDC laboratory, I'd bet dollars vs pennies there's already a protocol for handling "old badly labelled samples" that includes "not opening" and "not misplacing".

justizin 12y ago
yeah i don't think you throw random stuff in the trash, i'm sure they go into a bio hazard disposal.
mikecb 12y ago
It began at the FDA, which doesn't routinely handle substances of this type. That's why it was transferred to NIH in Bethesda temporarily while the CDC team came up from Atlanta.
- aroch 12y ago
  Well, no, it began at the NIH. NIH handed the labs over to the FDA, and apparently missed a vial during the move.
  - mikecb 12y ago
    Ahh. Yet still, it was not found at CDC by CDC employees more likely to be trained to handle highly infectious samples.
DanBC 12y ago
> I'm pretty sure anyone that speaks a Romance language may recognize 'variola' as smallpox. Wait, what? Are you limiting that to people who work in an area where they might possibly come into contact with it? Because otherwise you might find it fun to ask the next hundred people you meet what "variola" is.
- moioci 12y ago
  You realize English is not a Romance language?

nathannecro 12y ago

In general, when you come across any sample that's not yours or something whose label you can't read or don't recognize, you don't touch it at all until you can find someone who does. If you can't find anybody, you handle that sample as if it contains poison - even if it's just a long-dead colony. I assume that the CDC/FDA/NIH have more stringent protocol in place.

maxerickson 12y ago
Meanwhile: OFFICIALS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently discovered that at least 75 workers there had been exposed to possible anthrax infection. and Based on current reports, the problem arose when anthrax — incorrectly thought to be dead — was removed from the high-containment lab and exposed people who had no knowledge that they were in contact with live bacteria. from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/anthrax-thats-not-the-real-worry.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/opinion/anthrax-thats-not-...
- nathannecro 12y ago
  Yeah, I read that. Just like in all disasters, the biggest contributor to catastrophic failure is human error. I'm sure the protocols were in place to prevent something like this from happening.