The U.S. government hasn't seen the last of its laboratory safety woes. Following a handful of accidents involving the mismanagement of highly infectious pathogens at federal facilities in recent months, the National Institutes of Health revealed on Sept. 5 that it uncovered small amounts of other improperly stored pathogens--including the toxin ricin and plague-causing bacteria.
The Associated Press first broke the news, reporting that the agency found, in various facilities, 5 misplaced "select agents"--dangerous biological substances that must be registered with and are controlled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The container of ricin was thought to be 85 to 100 years old, according to an agency memo shared with the AP. According to the NIH, ricin was not studied in the lab where the bottle was found.
The pathogen--along with others that cause botulism, plague, tularemia and a rare tropical infection called melioidosis--was unearthed during an investigation that was launched after vials of smallpox dating from the 1950s were found at an NIH lab in July.
That incident came after a June announcement by the CDC that workers were potentially exposed to anthrax and H5N1 flu in a lab breach. The CDC has since set up a safety board that will examine lab protocol with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to assess whether current lab protocols are being followed and if they are sufficient as well as make recommendations for new safety procedures.
In a separate case on Sept. 5, the FDA also found an improperly stored pathogen in one of its facilities, a toxin that can cause food poisoning, according to the AP.