UTAH — Officials said last week biological warfare scientists accidentally shipped deadly live anthrax spores to other military labs across the United States.
Officials now say samples were also sent to Australia and Canada…. Now, possibly the Pentagon.
Officials are now investigating whether live anthrax was brought into the Pentagon building itself, according to CNN.
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Pentagon’s police force, is one of the agencies that received questionable U.S. Army shipments of anthrax.
That shipment now must be tested to see if its live rather than dead pathogen. The Pentagon police received a shipment of what was supposed to be dead anthrax agent from one of three original lots, all of which are now shown to contain live, rather than dead anthrax.
The Pentagon has learned that additional samples of live anthrax were sent to three laboratories in Canada, two Defense officials confirmed to The USA Today Monday.
CNN broke the news that the initial samples were inadvertently shipped between a site in Dugway, Utah, and labs in nine other states.
The Pentagon has confirmed the incident, saying that the samples were supposed to be inactive and has insisted that there was no risk to the public.
“We are collaborating with the CDC. We are investigating the inadvertent transfer of live anthrax from a DOD lab in Utah,” a Pentagon spokesman said.
Anthrax is caused by a spore-forming bacterium. It mainly affects animals. Humans can become infected through contact with an infected animal or by inhaling spores.
Symptoms depend on the route of infection. They can range from a skin ulcer with a dark scab to difficulty breathing.
Antibiotic treatment cures most infections. Inhaled anthrax is harder to treat and can be fatal.
Photo: CDC
