5 ms·

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 labora

by 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?