CDC reports possible Ebola exposure due to mishandled lab sample

A CDC technician may have been exposed to Ebola virus as a result of incorrect lab procedures, according to a CDC lab safety report.

The incident involved an experiment that may have contained live virus being transferred from one lab to another. Although the sample was transported securely and kept on a sealed plate, according to the report it should not have been moved to the second lab.

“I am troubled by this incident in our Ebola research laboratory in Atlanta,” Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the CDC, said in the safety report. “We are monitoring the health of one technician who could possibly have been exposed and I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures.”

Tom Frieden

The possible exposure was discovered by lab scientists Dec. 23 and reported within the hour. Although the live sample was disposed of and the work area decontaminated as per routine procedure before the exposure was recognized, the lab has been decontaminated for a second time and is now closed.

There was no possible exposure outside of the laboratory, according to the report. The technician who worked with the material currently has no symptoms of Ebola virus disease but will be monitored for 21 days, as recommended by CDC guidelines. Others who entered the lab in which the possible exposure occurred were also contacted and assessed.

“Thousands of laboratory scientists in more than 150 labs throughout the CDC have taken extraordinary steps in recent months to improve safety,” Frieden said. “No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential — the safety of our employees is our highest priority.”