What disease-causing organisms do the labs in Frederick County work on?
The list of microbes (pathogens) under research by all the labs in Frederick County are too long to list, but the following Select Agents (see “What is a select agent?”) and other microbes have been reported as being present in one or more labs located at Fort Detrick:
• Bacillus anthracis (anthrax bacterium)
• Clostridium botulinum (makes the toxin responsible for botulism)
• Yersinia pestis (plague bacterium)
• Francisella tularensis (tularemia bacterium)
• A variety of viruses including Lassa, Ebola, Marburg, Equine Encephalitis, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Yellow Fever, influenza
• Coxiella burnetti (causes Q fever)
• Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis bacterium and B. mallei (glanders bacterium)
• Brucella species (causes brucellosis)
• Hanta virus
• Rift Valley fever
• Toxins including Ricin and Staph enterotoxin B

The labs have reported that the types of microbes/pathogens and toxins being worked on at any one time changes based on what research is active. They have also reported that there are no programs designed for large scale production; only a small number of microbes/pathogens are needed to conduct the research conducted at these labs.

Source:
Presentation by USAMRIID to the Containment Lab Community Advisory Committee, 2012

Show All Answers

1. What is a containment lab?
2. What do the Bio-safety level designations mean?
3. What Containment labs operate in Frederick County?
4. What is the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC)?
5. What disease-causing organisms do the labs in Frederick County work on?
6. What is a select agent and how are they controlled?
7. Do the labs in Frederick County conduct research on ‘weaponized’ pathogens and/or conduct classified research?
8. Why would any laboratory choose to work with select agents?
9. Who operates the labs?
10. Where are the BSL-3 and BSL-4 containment labs located in Frederick County?
11. Why are these labs in Frederick County and not somewhere else?
12. What are the potential ways for microbes to escape from a lab, and how do the labs prevent this from happening?
13. What agencies oversee operations to ensure safety?
14. How often are the labs inspected?
15. How did the presentations at the CLCAC Meeting by Emergency and Health Services personnel relate to the charted mission of the CLCAC regarding public health and safety of the Frederick community?
16. What is the time-line for Fort Detrick Officials to notify Frederick County first-responders when there is an abnormal event or incident on the Fort Detrick campus?
17. What is the County action plan for public notification and potential evacuation when Fort Detrick reports the release of an infectious material/toxin/contaminated animal or specimen into the Community
18. What are the notification procedures in the event of a release of an infectious material(s) or toxin or contaminated animal or specimen (“materials") at a Fort Detrick facility?
19. Is there a permanent real-time meteorological monitoring station on the Fort Detrick campus which supports an abnormal event or incident on the Fort Detrick campus?
20. What is the difference between biological material and nuclear material?
21. How did the presentations at the CLCAC Meeting by Emergency Management and Health Services personnel relate to the charted mission of the CLCAC regarding County Public Health and Safety?