Infectious TB outbreak at Seattle lab covered up by national media outlets

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Why? Seattle has been having TB out breaks for a few years now. Even the MLB team, The Mariners, have had players infected.

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Flaws detected after TB infects 3 at Seattle lab

By Warren King

Seattle Times medical reporter

Three workers in a downtown Seattle research laboratory were infected with tuberculosis while working on a vaccine for the deadly disease, state officials say.

The accident at the Infectious Disease Research Institute occurred when researchers were infecting guinea pigs in a small chamber containing aerosolized TB bacteria, according to institute officials and the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).

None of the workers — a researcher and two technicians — has active TB. All were treated with a preventive drug for six to nine months after the infections were discovered last year during routine TB testing.

"There was no hazard to anyone outside" the tightly controlled level 3 lab, said John Furman, occupational-nurse consultant for L&I. The lab is housed in space leased by Corixa, a biotech company, at 1124 Columbia St.

Biosafety level 3 laboratories are one step below those authorized to handle the most dangerous pathogens.

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) is a small, nonprofit organization that sometimes collaborates with Corixa and other companies. It is supported by the National Institutes of Health and private donations and works on vaccines and diagnostic tests for a variety of diseases.

No one knows for certain how the workers were infected. But an extensive L&I investigation found there were leaks in the infection chamber, workers didn´t wear sufficiently protective masks and there was no written protection program for working with TB.

IDRI was fined $2,000 for violations of state regulations. The company corrected the deficiencies and increased safety precautions, L&I officials said.

The accident was revealed in a Web site posting this month by the Sunshine Project, a small Texas- and Germany-based nonprofit that watchdogs biodefense programs.

News of the exposures comes as the University of Washington is being criticized for its proposal to build a biodefense and infectious-disease laboratory near Portage Bay. The facility also would be a level 3 lab, for studying lethal airborne agents and other diseases.




Area residents and UW faculty members have questioned why it should be built in Seattle. Federal officials will announce in September whether the UW´s application for $25 million to build the facility is approved. It will then have to raise at least an additional $20 million for construction.

Referring to the IDRI incident, Albert Berger, UW vice dean for research, said the highest risk in such facilities is always to those who work with infectious agents.

"The UW is seeking community input while at the same time educating the public about the safety and security measures that will be part of the building," he said in a written statement. "Level 2 and 3 research is currently being conducted at sites throughout the UW as well as at other research facilities in Seattle."

L&I learned of the IDRI infections only when the three workers filed workers´-compensation claims to cover medical expenses. The agency´s claims division notifies its inspection division about any cluster of three or more illnesses from one location, said Furman, of L&I.

[link to seattletimes.nwsource.com]
Times researcher David Turim contributed.

Last Edited by Phennommennonn on 09/10/2011 02:34 PM