United States: Florida state officials transported blood samples of hepatitis C patient specimens through mail service to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.
They used dry ice to pack specimens before shipment. Medical experts define the hepatitis C virus as a dangerous pathogen because it exists in infected blood and develops into fatal liver cancer while evading diagnosis attempts.
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The CDC’s headquarters Division for Viral Hepatitis would possess the expertise to comprehend the situation in Florida.
The discovery of the hepatitis C virus in the 1980s became possible through scientific work conducted on nearly one million frozen specimens stored in the laboratory, npr.org reported.
The findings published about hepatitis C received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2020.
Scientists working at the laboratory maintained full expertise in their professional activities.
The Florida blood samples analyzed through their specialized software revealed that nine victims were traced back to the doctor-run pain clinic, where vial reuse violations were discovered later.
Through March, Florida state officials succeeded in restricting the doctor’s medical license while sending packaged new patient samples to the CDC for testing as per CDC employee reporting.
The investigation into the outbreak ceased operations on April 1. US Department of Health and Human Services sent an email to all 27 scientists of the lab before they were formally notified about losing their employment.
The scientists found out, along with several thousands of other employees through identical emails, that their employment at the CDC would stop after June 2, although they would remain on administrative leave until that date.
As per the statement sought, their duties were “identified as either unnecessary or virtually identical to duties being performed elsewhere in the agency,” npr.org reported.
The American and global laboratories do not perform the unique genetic tracing method the CDC lab conducts, according to experts who spoke with NPR.