Investigators Uncover Additional Problems at CDC Labs Reported Before Anthrax Incident

WASHINGTON – Congressional democratic investigators have uncovered additional and alarming problems at Centers for Disease Control (CDC) facilities that should have alerted officials to serious safety lapses. Inspections by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported incidents ranging from paperwork errors to breaches in basic safety procedures. While some inspections of CDC facilities have been previously reported, these additional inspections indicate this problem has been more pervasive than previously thought.

Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (CO-01) will seek answers to how these errors occurred.

Last month, CDC employees at the agency's Bioterrorism Rapid Response and Advanced Technology (BRRAT) lab transferred potentially live samples of anthrax to two other labs, exposing dozens of CDC employees to this public health threat.