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Fort Detrick-based lab investigating after tuberculosis found among lab animals, caretaker
By Kate Masters kmasters@newspost.com Apr 12, 2018 Updated 1 hr ago 1
The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases ? a tenant agency on Fort Detrick in Frederick ? is investigating after five laboratory primates tested positive for the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis ? a bacterial disease that primarily affects the lungs ? can cause chest pain, persistent coughing and coughing up blood. It's rarely fatal among patients in the United States, but does require at least a six-month treatment regimen of four antibiotic drugs.
The disease was found among a group of cynomolgus macaques, also known as crab-eating macaques ? an important species to biomedical research. One monkey was identified as a suspect for tuberculosis in late February and tested positive for the disease in March after a necropsy, said Caree Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for USAMRIID.
Further testing identified five other macaques with latent tuberculosis, meaning they tested positive for the disease but did not show outward symptoms.
The monkeys were obtained by USAMRIID from the National Institutes of Health Animal Center near Poolesville, according to Vander Linden. The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Centers for Disease Control and Infection, which also oversees the importation of laboratory animals into the United States.
A human caretaker who works closely with the macaques tested positive for tuberculosis bacteria, Vander Linden said. The worker will receive routine antibiotic treatment for the disease...
Fort Detrick-based lab investigating after tuberculosis found among lab animals, caretaker
By Kate Masters kmasters@newspost.com Apr 12, 2018 Updated 1 hr ago 1
The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases ? a tenant agency on Fort Detrick in Frederick ? is investigating after five laboratory primates tested positive for the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis ? a bacterial disease that primarily affects the lungs ? can cause chest pain, persistent coughing and coughing up blood. It's rarely fatal among patients in the United States, but does require at least a six-month treatment regimen of four antibiotic drugs.
The disease was found among a group of cynomolgus macaques, also known as crab-eating macaques ? an important species to biomedical research. One monkey was identified as a suspect for tuberculosis in late February and tested positive for the disease in March after a necropsy, said Caree Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for USAMRIID.
Further testing identified five other macaques with latent tuberculosis, meaning they tested positive for the disease but did not show outward symptoms.
The monkeys were obtained by USAMRIID from the National Institutes of Health Animal Center near Poolesville, according to Vander Linden. The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Centers for Disease Control and Infection, which also oversees the importation of laboratory animals into the United States.
A human caretaker who works closely with the macaques tested positive for tuberculosis bacteria, Vander Linden said. The worker will receive routine antibiotic treatment for the disease...