EbolaKlain defends CDC protocols after lab technician’s potential exposure to Ebola

The Obama administration’s Ebola czar, Ron Klain, yesterday (Sunday) defended the security procedures of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after a technician at one of the agency’s labs in Atlanta was potentially exposed to the deadly disease.

Klain told CBS: “It’s obviously unacceptable to have any mishandling of Ebola materials; [CDC director] Dr. [Tom] Frieden will present a full review and report within four weeks. But I also think it’s important to keep this in context.

“First of all, thanks to the other protocols and procedures in place, there was no risk to the public, to the CDC staff generally. Only one technician was exposed and so far she’s showing no signs of having the disease. She’ll be monitored every day.”

The Guardian reports that the unnamed technician’s potential exposure, which happened on Monday, was discovered on Tuesday and announced by CDC on Wednesday, Christmas Eve. The lab technician has been placed under close observation for twenty-one days. About a dozen other lab employees are also being watched.

The CDC has been criticized earlier this year not only for its response to the Ebola outbreak and Ebola cases within the United States. Numerous safety violations and lax procedures have been reported in the CDC’s labs and in the manner the agency’s technicians transport lethal pathogens, including anthrax and botulism bacteria, from one lab to another.

“I visited this lab in October,” Klain said of the CDC’s Atlanta facility, “and they’ve been studying Ebola for twenty years without one single incident. They’ve processed more than 10,000 Ebola samples during this current crisis and they’ve saved thousands of lives.

“The CDC is a national treasure — and people around look to us for leadership in the Ebola response. The American people should be very proud of Dr. Frieden’s team at the CDC.”