The why it happened is a concern. It is unclear to me why the bacteria was being inactivated for lower level labs.
Agence France-Presse
June 19, 2014
Around 75 scientists (click here) may have been accidentally exposed to anthrax at a US government health facility in Atlanta, Georgia, authorities said Thursday.
The scientists have been given antibiotics and are being monitored for signs of illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
The potential exposure occurred at a high-security lab "after established safety practices were not followed," said the CDC.
Samples of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) were being prepared for research at lower-security labs "to yield new means of detecting dangerous pathogens in environmental samples," it said.
"However, the lab used a procedure that did not adequately inactivate the samples."...
