HEALTHBiosafety concerns are key in building better labsSecure facilities and proper handling of dangerous pathogens mean a safer environment for workers and the public.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. April 8, 2002. Washington -- The 1994 nonfiction work, The Hot Zone, culminates in a near outbreak of the Ebola virus in a Washington, D.C., suburb that was so scary it even terrified author Stephen King, who is no stranger to horrific scenarios. "The first chapter of The Hot Zone is one of the most terrifying things I've ever read ... and then it gets worse," King said in praise of author Richard Preston's description of the 1989 biological incident. Monkeys thought to be infected with the lethal Ebola virus were dying in a Reston, Va., facility. That's bad enough. But even worse, the moon-suited scientists assigned to destroy them describe the sounds of children at play in a nearby day-care center. Except for the monkeys, everyone survived the experience. But could the virus have escaped into the environment? Were the children in danger? New threats of bioterrorism give rise to thoughts of similar disasters and these kinds of questions. The bottom line: Could anthrax be substituted for Ebola and place innocent bystanders in a similar fix? Not if designers of labs play by the rules set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say several scientists. During the past two or three years, the CDC has provided funds to states to build laboratories that are equipped to handle pathogens rated as a three on a biosafety scale where four is the most lethal. So far the agency has worked with about 25 state public health laboratories as well as about 150 other labs in anticipation that they might, someday, have to work with dangerous agents, said Jonathan Richmond, PhD, director of the CDC's Office of Health and Safety. For some labs, that day occurred last fall when numerous samples of suspected anthrax were analyzed.
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Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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