|
 The Burkholderia pseudomallei bacterium is stored at a high-security
laboratory at the Tulane National Primate Research Center near New
Orleans, about half a mile from where thousands of monkeys are kept
in a breeding colony housing a veterinary clinic, and federal
investigators have been seeking to figure out how it migrated from
one place to the other.
Research on the bacterium, being conducted to find a vaccine, has
been halted, Tulane has said.
Tests showed that the worker, employed at the clinic where the
infected monkeys had been treated, had an amount of antibodies just
at the threshold for a verified positive result. More tests will be
needed to determine whether the worker was exposed to the bacterium,
the CDC said.
There is no indication that the bacterium, which is not easily
spread by humans or monkeys but usually contracted by exposure of an
open wound to contaminated soil or water, has made it into the
surrounding environment, and the risk to the general population is
low, said Jason McDonald, a CDC spokesman.
Eight monkeys at the facility have been found to have been
accidentally infected with or exposed to the bacterium since late
last year.
Three were euthanized. The others, including one the CDC announced
Thursday as having been exposed, have shown antibodies indicating
exposure but have displayed no symptoms.
The clinic, which has been decontaminated, is believed to be where
the monkeys came into contact with the bacterium while being treated
for routine illnesses and injuries, the CDC said.
[to top of second column] |
A federal investigator who visited the facility in January tested
positive for exposure to the bacterium, but was found to have been
exposed to it earlier, likely while traveling in a region where it
is endemic, which include parts of Southeast Asia and Australia.
The clinic worker who tested positive was among the workers and
monkeys who have been tested in the wake of the breach, the CDC
said.
The bacterium can cause a disease called melioidosis in both humans
and animals. It has a wide range of symptoms that can be confused
with other diseases like tuberculosis or pneumonia, according to the
CDC.
A spokesman for Tulane University deferred comment to the CDC.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
