Last Updated

29 Jun 2003

Source:  Reuters, April 4, 2002.

US Lab Worker with Anthrax Didn't Wear Gloves

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The Texas-based laboratory worker who recently came down with a case of cutaneous anthrax (case addenda) had handled anthrax-containing vials without wearing gloves, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday.

The man nicked himself shaving the day before handling the vials, and had a small cut on his right jaw.

Over the next two or three days, the cut increased in size and he developed swollen glands, fever and swelling and reddening of his face and neck. He was diagnosed with cutaneous anthrax and was hospitalized on March 5.

The worker was testing samples in a lab contracted by the CDC to help with the investigation of the recent anthrax attacks. The CDC investigation revealed that the laboratory was using alcohol to disinfect laboratory surfaces, although a 10% bleach solution is needed to kill anthrax spores.

"Gloves should be used whenever handling material that contains or might contain Bacillus anthracis (anthrax bacteria), and skin defects should be covered with an impermeable...bandage while working in the laboratory," according to the report in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Report.

The case "highlights the need for anthrax vaccination, in addition to standard laboratory safety procedures, for laboratorians who work routinely with Bacillus anthracis specimens," according to the CDC. The worker was unvaccinated.

This case is the first since last fall, when five people died from inhalation anthrax after anthrax-containing letters were sent to people in Florida, New York and Washington, DC. Others contracted the less deadly skin form of the disease, and survived.

The case does not mean that there is a new threat to the public's health, according to the federal agency.

The Texas lab is not a member of the CDC's Laboratory Response Network, a web of 110 facilities around the country under contract with the CDC to help with public health emergencies.

The lab worker fully recovered with treatment.