Spring Break
CDC investigates A&M
By: Calli Turner
Issue date: 6/28/07 Section: News
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Click here for the e-mails released by Texas A&M
Texas A&M is once again under investigation by the Center for Disease Control after three A&M researchers were infected with Q fever, a CDC-listed bioterrorism agent.
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Jerry Strawser confirmed the investigation. "Until the findings are released, we can't provide any more information," Strawser said.
CDC officials said Tuesday in The Dallas Morning News that they still haven't received documentation on the Q fever case. The late brucella report and missing Q fever report are "part of what we're investigating," the CDC's Von Roebuck said in The News.
Officials with the CDC were on campus in April investigating the late reporting of a student researcher infected with the brucella bacteria.
Strawser said the investigation is related to the prior brucellosis infection.
Both cases have been under the investigation of Sunshine Project, a watchdog organization that tracks biotechnology research. In October 2006, Sunshine Project Director Edward Hammond filed a request for all accidents involving bioweapon agents at A&M.
"I just got the Q fever documents, released them and now the CDC is coming back to Texas A&M again to investigate on the Q fever," Hammond said.
He said the two investigations are not related.
"A&M has put out a statement which is deliberately crafted to cause confusion by combining two incidents. You have two separate incidents of laboratory-acquired infections and you have two separate CDC investigations."
Hammond said the brucella investigation in April has been conducted by the CDC and was awaiting the Health and Human Services inspector general to assess penalties on A&M.
Hammond said A&M officials were at fault in regard to the Q fever incident.
"The infection should not have happened if their safety protocols were adequate and were followed, and Texas A&M violated federal bioterrorism law by not reporting the infection. That's a pretty serious matter and I fully expect them to be penalized by the federal government for it," Hammond said.
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