---Quoted from my earlier post
"But less is known about other labs that work with organisms that cause whooping cough, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, meningitis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, herpes, several strains of flu, rabies, HIV and SARS."
----------
[An impending STD attack, like those "Free Love" 1960s??]
------------
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071004/...nNai_5SaAb.3QA

Labs may fail to report germ accidents

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago


With accidents rising at high-security research laboratories, congressional investigators said Thursday that incidents with dangerous germs and toxins may not be reported because labs fear bad publicity and workers fear for their jobs.

The accidents, ranging from skin cuts to animal bites, result mostly from "human error due to carelessness, inadequate training or poor judgment," said Keith Rhodes, a Government Accountability Office expert on lab research.

The Associated Press reported this week that American laboratories handling the world's deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, and the number is increasing as more labs do the work.

No one died, and regulators said the public was never at risk during these incidents. But the documented cases reflect poorly on procedures and oversight at high-security labs. In some cases, labs have failed to report accidents as required by law.

Rhodes told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee the GAO found "a disincentive to report acquired infections and other mishaps at research institutions."

The reasons, he said, are "negative publicity for the institution or the scrutiny from a granting agency, which might result in the suspension of research, or an adverse effect on future funding.

"Further, it is generally believed that when a worker acquires an infection in the lab, it is almost always his or her fault, and neither the worker nor the lab is interested in negative publicity."

The major known breakdown came at Texas A&M, where lab officials failed to report worker exposures to Brucella bacteria and Q fever. One worker became seriously ill but recovered.

Rhodes said these barriers must be removed, so that "accidents are thoroughly examined and contained."

He suggested lab accidents could be treated like aviation incidents, where mistakes are analyzed to learn lessons rather than to blame individuals.

"Experts have agreed that some form of personal anonymity would encourage reporting," said Rhodes, who is the GAO's chief technologist at the Center for Technology and Engineering, Applied Research and Methods.

Dr. Richard Besser, the CDC's terrorism and emergency response coordinator, says the agency's regulation of the labs is under review by an internal watchdog.

Besser's written testimony said the Health and Human Services inspector general will issue his report next year.

"We need improvements in our inspection process," Besser said.

Labs are routinely inspected by the CDC just once every three years, but accidents and changes in research trigger new inspections.

Besser said CDC changes under consideration include:

_Possible changes in the composition of inspection teams and the frequency of inspections.

_More expansive interviews of lab employees and closer examination of accident response plans.

_Interviews with more types of laboratory workers, in par to check their training.

_Reviewing more internal lab documents to identify problems that may go unreported.

_Verification, through additional visits, that problems were corrected.

Still, Besser said the regulation program has "greatly enhanced the nation's oversight of dangerous biological agents and toxins. Because of the efforts of the individuals in these programs, there is improved awareness of biosafety and biosecurity throughout the select agent community."