Hospitals, Policy

CDC labs will now be monitored with cameras to regain public trust

People make mistakes, sure, but for those handling things like live Ebola and anthrax samples, […]

People make mistakes, sure, but for those handling things like live Ebola and anthrax samples, errors should ideally be kept to a minimum.

The public was rightfully concerned recently when an Ebola sample mishap happened in a lab at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since last June, the agency has also released information about other incidents. Like the time a deadly form of bird flu was accidentally sent to an external lab. Major oops.

Now, the CDC is doing its best to restore some faith with a camera-monitoring system, officials told Reuters.

The agency is expected to release details of its investigation into the recent Ebola sample issue soon, but for now the 67 cameras installed will allow lab directors and senior scientists to ensure they have followed safety protocols.

“You cannot deviate,” Leslie Dauphin, interim director of laboratory safety, told Reuters. “That is what the camera system helps with.”

Videos will be transmitted through Wi-Fi so they can be seen in real time or later. CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told Reuters that the camera system cost the agency about $84,000.

According to Dauphin, the CDC labs could end up adopting the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) eventually, or something similar.

“This is going to be a huge undertaking. But a part of what I’m doing is to explore how best to begin implementing that process,” she said.

Side note: Is it just me or is it disturbing that there weren’t already cameras?

[Photo from Flickr user Brett Weinstein]

 

 

 

 

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