Oops...Pentagon sends out live anthrax to nine states. I hope this was not part of the WMDs we sell to other countries ...
WASHINGTON—Live samples of the anthrax virus were inadvertently sent from a Defense Department research facility to labs in nine states, but there were no known incidents of exposure to the virus, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Col. Steve Warren, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said there was “no known risk to the general public” or any confirmed cases of anthrax infection in workers who potentially were exposed to the samples.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the inadvertent transfer of samples with live Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax, from the defense lab in Dugway, Utah. Col. Warren said the Pentagon will assist with that investigation.
The Dugway research lab was part of a project under way to identify biological threats, Col Warren said. Labs receiving the live anthrax samples were in Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, California and Virginia, the Associated Press reported.
“The DoD lab was working as part of a DoD effort to develop a field-based test to identify biological threats in the environment,” Col. Warren said. The Pentagon doesn’t routinely ship live anthrax virus samples. The samples are supposed to be inert before being shipped.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com
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