Category Archives: select agents

29Oct / 2019

Humboldt County Public Health Lab was ready for ricin thanks to LRN

Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory team poses in the lab.

By Jody DeVoll, advisor, communications, APHL

Jeremy Corrigan, Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory manager, was having a quiet Tuesday morning when he received a call from a member of the local hazmat team. Workers processing mail at a nearby California state prison had found envelopes containing an unidentified white powder, and samples were being sent to the lab for testing. Meanwhile, 116 prison workers were under quarantine at the prison.

Fortunately, the Humboldt County laboratory was well prepared and equipped to handle this sort of request. As a member of the Laboratory Response Network for Biological Threats, the national laboratory system that protects Americans from serious biological threats, such as anthrax and plague, and from emerging infectious diseases, it is the only facility with these capabilities in this remote section of northern California.

Three Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory scientists dressed in protective gear take a selfie in the laboratory.Though the situation was urgent, Humboldt laboratory staff were careful to maintain chain of custody and preserve evidence and therefore did not immediately launch into testing when the samples arrived. Following protocol, they devoted two hours to documenting, photographing and opening the samples, handling them with the utmost care. Then they turned to testing with a time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TRF) followed by molecular testing.

The results were startling. Normally white powder samples come back negative for any select agent as so-called “white-powder incidents” are typically hoaxes, but these tested positive, specifically for ricin A chain. Ricin has two protein chains – ricin A chain and ricin B chain – and both must be present to have toxic effects. When ricin is used as a biothreat agent, the presence of A chain usually means testing will also reveal B chain.

Once Corrigan had the preliminary results, he called his Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) weapons of mass destruction contact, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the prison incident commander. This was the beginning of an all-night phone marathon with the CDC, the FBI and local and state government officials. During a short break, Corrigan lay down for 30 minutes to rest his eyes.

Back at the laboratory early Wednesday morning, Corrigan’s next challenge was shipping. To be certain the samples were positive for ricin A chain and ricin B chain, they would have to go to a federal laboratory for confirmatory testing. However, the Humboldt laboratory did not have the materials required for shipping ricin and delivery would take up to two days. Seeing no other alternative, Corrigan placed the order for the shipping materials and waited.

Then came a call from an FBI agent traveling aboard a C-130 military transport aircraft announcing that he would be arriving within the hour to pick up the samples. Corrigan later learned that the California Governor’s Office and the FBI had prevailed upon federal authorities to make their resources available to expedite transport of the samples.

Once at the FBI laboratory, the samples tested positive for both ricin A chain and ricin B chain. The unidentified white powder from the prison mailroom was indeed ricin and the toxin was active. Using samples forwarded by the FBI, CDC laboratories reached the same conclusion. At this point, the acute phase of the incident ended for the laboratory as the focus shifted to the criminal investigation for the FBI and United States Postal Service. While not actively involved, Corrigan and his team at the Humboldt laboratory offered any additional testing support should the need arise.

Corrigan credits the Laboratory Response Network for his facility’s efficient response to the crisis. “The LRN backbone is what allowed us to respond so quickly. We had the protocols, the procedures, the partners, the proficiency and the relationships to handle the response.” He also commends the strong support he received from the county, the health department, the acting state public health officer and the Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory, which handled Humboldt’s overflow testing during the height of the crisis.

According to Corrigan, “The ricin event strengthened our existing relationships and allowed us to develop new ones.” To build upon this dynamic, he is planning a regional training that will bring together Humboldt laboratory staff, local hazmat teams, the sheriff’s department and the region’s civil support team.

The post Humboldt County Public Health Lab was ready for ricin thanks to LRN appeared first on APHL Lab Blog.

Posted by in All Posts, laboratory response network, LRN, Preparedness, Public Health Preparedness & Response, ricin, select agents, white powder

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30Jun / 2016

Safeguarding Deadly Pathogens and Poisons

Microscope

Bioterrorism is not a new threat. One of the earliest recorded uses of biological weapons dates back to the 6th century B.C., when Persian armies poisoned wells with a fungus. Modern threats, however, are more complex and could cause widespread devastation. The anthrax attacks of 2001 focused our nation on making sure especially dangerous pathogens and poisons (which we call select agents and toxins) are being handled safely and are protected at all times.

Select Agents 101

Common examples of select agents and toxins include the germs that cause anthrax, bubonic plague, and smallpox, as well as toxins like ricin. The Federal Select Agent Program currently regulates 65 select agents and toxins. If handled incorrectly – or in the hands of the wrong people – select agents and toxins can pose a severe threat to the health and safety of people, plants, or animals. While some select agents are normally found in the environment and don’t cause human disease, many of them – if manipulated or released in large quantities – can cause serious health threats.

What is a select agent?
Click to see the full infographic.

Why we handle dangerous pathogens

While it might be easier to avoid handling deadly pathogens and poisons in the first place, scientists have to work with them in order to better understand how to protect people from their effects. Research leads to discoveries that save lives – for example, when we create vaccines to protect from exposure to smallpox or when we’re able to track mutations of killer diseases like Ebola.

Research with select agents and toxins is done in labs that are registered with the Federal Select Agent Program, which is a partnership between CDC and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). As of 2015, nearly 300 labs were registered to handle these materials. Labs can be run by academic institutions, the government (federal or non-federal), or commercial or private entities.

Keeping safe, staying secure

To keep select agents and toxins safe and to prevent them from being stolen, lost, or accidentally or intentionally released, the Federal Select Agent Program (at the request of the U.S. Congress) created a set of regulations known as the Select Agent Regulations. Registered labs are responsible for following these regulations. To ensure that this is taking place, labs must undergo regular inspections so the program can find and help fix any safety or security issues.

We also provide registered labs with technical assistance and guidance, and help prepare for natural disasters or national events by making sure all materials are properly secured. Within the labs, all individuals who work with select agents and toxins must first undergo a security risk assessment performed by the FBI. This helps guard against anyone who may wish to misuse the agents.

What if there’s an accident?

The good news is that the vast majority of labs are doing well in following the regulations and keeping workers safe. In the event that a potential exposure occurs, the Federal Select Agent Program is immediately notified and takes action to help reduce risks and prevent it from happening in the future. In 2015, no potential exposures resulted in illness, death, or transmission, either among lab workers or people in the surrounding communities.

 With the proper safeguards in place, we can help keep select agents in the right hands as we learn how to protect people from the deadly illnesses they cause.

2015 Annual Report and Key Findings

 In June 2016, the program published its first annual report of key data from across the program. The 2015 Annual Report of the Federal Select Agent Program demonstrates the program’s ongoing commitment to increasing transparency and understanding of the work done by the Federal Select Agent Program to regulate laboratories working with select agents and toxins. To learn more about the report’s findings, please see our infographic and visit our web page.

Posted by in bioterrorism, Division of Select Agents and Toxins, Federal Select Agent Program, General, PHPR: Health Security in Action, Preparedness, public health, select agents

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