Month: August 2014

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. laboratory inspectors charged with protecting the public from the release of deadly pathogens were repeatedly criticized by a federal watchdog for overlooking biosafety lapses long before this year’s anthrax scare at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).     Newly released federal documents show that oversight gaps at the CDC Division of Select Agents and Toxins (DSAT) may have contributed to biosafety lapses at six laboratories handling pathogens including smallpox, influenza and monkeypox. As a result, the inspectors may have put public safety at risk.     “We found that DSAT did not effectively monitor and enforce certain federal select agent regulations at the laboratories,” Daniel Levinson, inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a July 2011 report sent with a letter to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.     “These weaknesses may have contributed to the laboratories not being in full compliance with certain federal select agent regulations, which may have put public health and safety at increased risk.” The documents of the HHS inspections of the CDC labs were released on Friday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and provide insights into a repeating pattern of biosafety problems that date back to 2008 and span both the Obama and Bush administrations.

By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) – Two American aid workers, both seriously ill after being infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia, will be flown to the United States and treated in isolation at an Atlanta hospital, officials said on Friday. A plane equipped to transport Dr. Kent Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol can carry only one patient back at a time, and Christian relief group Samaritan's Purse said it did not know who would return first. "We have learned that we will be receiving a patient with Ebola at Emory University Hospital on Saturday," said Holly Korschun, spokeswoman for the facility where they will be treated.

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) – A Colorado task force charged with tightening controls on marijuana edibles unveiled proposed rules on Friday to limit potency levels, require clearer labeling and assure that children cannot get their hands on pot-infused confections. Under the guidelines released by the Colorado Department of Revenue, serving sizes of edible pot products would be restricted to 10 mg of THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, down from 100 mg. Packaging would also have to alert consumers the items contain cannabis. The proposals represent an effort by Colorado officials to rein in the sale of edibles, which are especially controversial for their potential to attract children and pot novices, with possibly dangerous consequences. Colorado lawmakers passed legislation in May charging the task force, comprising pot industry representatives, health professionals and law enforcement officials, with drafting new regulations after two deaths possibly linked to pot-infused foods made headlines.

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