U.S. military mistakenly ships live anthrax to nine state labs and South Korea

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-military-mistakenly-ships-live-anthrax-to-nine-state-labs-and-south-korea/article24659360/



U.S. military mistakenly ships live anthrax to nine state labs and South Korea
Phil Stewart and Sharon Begley
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK — Reuters
Published Thursday, May. 28 2015, 8:34 AM EDT
Last updated Thursday, May. 28 2015, 8:36 AM EDT

The U.S. military mistakenly sent live anthrax bacteria to laboratories in nine U.S. states and a U.S. air base in South Korea, after apparently failing to properly inactivate the bacteria last year, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The Pentagon said there was no known suspected infection or risk to the public. But four U.S. civilians have been started on preventive measures called post-exposure prophylaxis, which usually includes the anthrax vaccine, antibiotics or both.

Twenty-two personnel at the base in South Korea were also given precautionary medical measures although none have shown sign of exposure, the U.S. military said.

The four in the United States face “minimal” risk, said Jason McDonald, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has begun an investigation of the incident. They had been “doing procedures that sent the agent into the air,” he said.