CDC suspends A&M research on infectious diseases
In spring 2006, Aggies researchers were infected with Q fever and Brucella, but the school failed to report the cases to CDC; CDC pulls Texas A&M license
We reported last week that Texas A&M failed to report two 2006 cases of human exposure to biological agents, and the Aggies are now paying the price: The Dallas Morning News’s Emily Ramshaw reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indefinitely suspended all of Texas A&M University’s federally sanctioned research on the most dangerous infectious diseases. In a memo sent to the university Saturday, the CDC questions whether A&M meets biosafety standards and has an appropriate security plan. The memo says CDC officials plan to revisit the campus this month, and it demands dozens of records and interviews with key researchers. The letter warns that the university could permanently lose the authority to work with select agents if researchers don’t follow federal guidelines. In April 2006 three biodefense researchers were exposed to Q fever. Just two months earlier, another lab worker fell ill after being infected with Brucella. In a statement, A&M interim president Eddie Davis said the university takes the matter seriously and intends to comply with federal rules.
Texas A&M heads the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, one of ten “centers of excellence” around the nation. The A&M center is funded by an $18 million DHS biodefense research grant.
