One technician may have been exposed to the Ebola virus at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, according to agency officials.
The potential exposure took place Monday when material from an Ebola virus experiment was transported from one lab to another.
The CDC says the material was on a sealed plate but should not have been moved to that lab.
One technician is being monitored. A CDC spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News the CDC has notified about a dozen other people but none have required monitoring.
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CDC officials say there was no possible exposure outside the secure laboratory at CDC, and no exposure or risk to the public. The problem was discovered Tuesday and reported to leadership within an hour of the discovery.
A CDC statement reads:
"I am troubled by this incident in our Ebola research laboratory in Atlanta," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "We are monitoring the health of one technician who could possibly have been exposed and I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures. Thousands of laboratory scientists in more than 150 labs throughout CDC have taken extraordinary steps in recent months to improve safety. No risk to staff is acceptable, and our efforts to improve lab safety are essential -- the safety of our employees is our highest priority."
In June, at least 52 workers at the CDC took antibiotics as a precaution because a lab safety problem was thought to have exposed them to anthrax.
Channel 2 Action News has a reporter working to learn more details about this story for live reports on the Channel 2 Action News Nightbeat at 11.
