Biocontainment Laboratories: Addressing the Terror Within
Authors: Deborah Cotton
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Editorials21 October 2014Biocontainment Laboratories: Addressing the Terror WithinDeborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy EditorDeborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy EditorFrom American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M14-1668 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail When I arrived at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a young research physician in 1978, I found a college-like campus of mostly red brick buildings. Children played among its trees, and nuns sang vespers in an adjoining convent. Change came, of course. Over the years, the campus sprouted sleek, modern laboratories that displaced many of the trees. The nuns left, their convent having been sold to the NIH for offices. However, nothing changed the campus like 9/11 and the anthrax attack that began just a week later. The open campus became an armed fortress. After all, what could ...References1. Altman LK. U.S. sets up plan to fight smallpox in case of attack. The New York Times. 4 November 2001. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/national/04CDC.html on 18 July 2014. Google Scholar2. U.S. Government Accountability Office. High-Containment Laboratories: National Strategy for Oversight Is Needed.GAO-09-574. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office; 2009. Google Scholar3. McNeil DG Jr. C.D.C. closes anthrax and flu labs after accidents. The New York Times. 11 July 2014. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2014/07/12/science/cdc-closes-anthrax-and-flu-labs-after-accidents.html on 18 July 2014. Google Scholar4. Altman LK. Ticking viral bombs, left in boxes. The New York Times. 14 July 2014. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/health/ticking-viral-bombs-left-in-boxes.html on 18 July 2014. Google Scholar5. Sun LH, Dennis B. Second probe finds more safety lapses at CDC anthrax labs. The Washington Post. 14 July 2014. Accessed at www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/second-probe-finds-more-safety-lapses-at-cdc-anthrax-labs/2014/07/14/b792d4fe-0b91-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html on 18 July 2014. Google Scholar6. Boston University Medical Campus. National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories Web site. Accessed at www.bu.edu/neidl on 18 July 2014. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy EditorAffiliations: From American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Disclaimer: Dr. Cotton is a Deputy Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine, Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and Professor of Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). However, the opinions expressed here are her own and do not represent those of IDSA.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1668.Corresponding Author: Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy Editor, American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.This article was published online first at www.annals.org on 29 July 2014. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byJournal Roundup: Ebola, antibiotic use and abuse, and the usual suspects 21 October 2014Volume 161, Issue 8Page: 609-610KeywordsAnthraxDisclosureFearForecastingH5N1Infectious diseasesPathogensPrevention, policy, and public healthResearch laboratoriesSafety ePublished: 21 October 2014 Issue Published: 21 October 2014 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2014 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...