Vials labeled 'smallpox' found at vaccine research facility in Pennsylvania, CDC says [View all]

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: 6ABC

PHILADELPHIA -- Several vials labeled "smallpox" have been found at a vaccine research facility in Pennsylvania, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. "There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials," the CDC said in a statement emailed to CNN.

"The frozen vials labeled 'Smallpox' were incidentally discovered by a laboratory worker while cleaning out a freezer in a facility that conducts vaccine research in Pennsylvania. CDC, its Administration partners, and law enforcement are investigating the matter and the vials' contents appear intact," the CDC added. "The laboratory worker who discovered the vials was wearing gloves and a face mask. We will provide further details as they are available."

According to Yahoo News, which cited an alert sent to Department of Homeland Security leadership, the vials were reportedly found in a freezer Monday night at a Merck facility outside Philadelphia. The closest Merck facility to Philadelphia is North Wales, Pa., although Action News cannot confirm there are questionable vials inside the building.

Smallpox, also known as variola, was declared eradicated in 1980 by the World Health Organization after a concerted global vaccination effort. Before that, the virus, which passes easily from person to person, infected 15 million people a year and killed about 30% of them. The last known outbreak in the US was in 1947.

Read more: https://6abc.com/smallpox-vials-cdc-vaccine-research-pennsylvania-world-health-organization/11245077/

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They were doing a local breaking here in Philly with this news. And yup, I now where that Merck campus is.