Brucella CellsAnd the answer is...
No absolutely not -- in fact, that is quite ridiculous.
Emily Ramshaw, of the Dallas Morning News, wrote of an A&M lab worker whom became infected by the infectious agent Brucella. She told of this university's and others' situation.
A lab technician at A&M came into contact with this infectious agent Brucella. Just to give a little brief, Brucella is a zoonosis - a disease that is usually only in animals and is transmitted to humans via contact with the diseased animal or the infectious agent itself. Even veterinarians and farmers can come into contact with Brucella. The problem in the case of the lab technician at A&M was that she did not have federal approval to work with the agent, and when she came into contact with Brucella, A&M did not report the exposure to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Although, to make the story even a little more intense - she literally was not working with the agent - she was just cleaning the aerosol chamber that housed it. But uh oh, she kinda didn't have the authorization to work with aerosols. . .
So what is to be done? Ramshaw reports of the CDC putting a block on the research that was being conducted, even though it was award-winning biodefense research. And she quotes the director of the Sunshine Project whom first released Texas A&M's incident (Edward Hammond) to say “Texas A&M really screwed things up. But I don't think they're the only ones that have a mess like this on their hands . . . universities generally don't have the command and control structures that are needed to handle biodefense research safely.”
And the answer is...
No absolutely not -- in fact, that is quite ridiculous.
With research, the world has developed countless vaccinations; treatments of diseases, disorders, cancers; technology; and a multitude of countless things we humans rely on. And, universities employ some of the top research scientists. These scientists rely on the universities to interact with other researchers, develop ideas, and teach their immense knowledge to students and coworkers alike. Combating this research, would be slowing down what keeps humans alive, healthy, and happy. And, as far as the lab technician at A&M whom was working around the Brucella and did not report coming into contact with it - this is a very possible situation being a lab technician. As I do research on DNA myself, I understand that there are always fellow lab techs that may be conducting research that one may be unaware of its dangerous potential. And, most times when one comes into contact with something that could be hazardous, one may not necessarily know until later symptoms develop. And the first thing the university probably wants to do is not to spend time contacting the CDC, but rather get the employee into advanced treatment.
No absolutely not -- in fact, that is quite ridiculous.
Emily Ramshaw, of the Dallas Morning News, wrote of an A&M lab worker whom became infected by the infectious agent Brucella. She told of this university's and others' situation.
A lab technician at A&M came into contact with this infectious agent Brucella. Just to give a little brief, Brucella is a zoonosis - a disease that is usually only in animals and is transmitted to humans via contact with the diseased animal or the infectious agent itself. Even veterinarians and farmers can come into contact with Brucella. The problem in the case of the lab technician at A&M was that she did not have federal approval to work with the agent, and when she came into contact with Brucella, A&M did not report the exposure to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Although, to make the story even a little more intense - she literally was not working with the agent - she was just cleaning the aerosol chamber that housed it. But uh oh, she kinda didn't have the authorization to work with aerosols. . .
So what is to be done? Ramshaw reports of the CDC putting a block on the research that was being conducted, even though it was award-winning biodefense research. And she quotes the director of the Sunshine Project whom first released Texas A&M's incident (Edward Hammond) to say “Texas A&M really screwed things up. But I don't think they're the only ones that have a mess like this on their hands . . . universities generally don't have the command and control structures that are needed to handle biodefense research safely.”
And the answer is...
No absolutely not -- in fact, that is quite ridiculous.
With research, the world has developed countless vaccinations; treatments of diseases, disorders, cancers; technology; and a multitude of countless things we humans rely on. And, universities employ some of the top research scientists. These scientists rely on the universities to interact with other researchers, develop ideas, and teach their immense knowledge to students and coworkers alike. Combating this research, would be slowing down what keeps humans alive, healthy, and happy. And, as far as the lab technician at A&M whom was working around the Brucella and did not report coming into contact with it - this is a very possible situation being a lab technician. As I do research on DNA myself, I understand that there are always fellow lab techs that may be conducting research that one may be unaware of its dangerous potential. And, most times when one comes into contact with something that could be hazardous, one may not necessarily know until later symptoms develop. And the first thing the university probably wants to do is not to spend time contacting the CDC, but rather get the employee into advanced treatment.
