Friday, May 29, 2015

UPDATE 1-Live anthrax found in U.S. military shipment to Australia -official

<span id="midArticle_start"/>(Recasts lead, adds details throughout)

<span id="midArticle_0"/>By Phil Stewart

<span id="midArticle_1"/> May 29 (Reuters) - An investigation of a U.S.military facility's mistaken shipments of live anthrax bacteriahas turned up another live sample, this one from a 2008 batchsent to Australia, a U.S. defense official said on Friday.

<span id="midArticle_2"/>The disclosure, if confirmed, suggests the possibility of abroader problem among anthrax samples meant to have been madeinactive at the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.

<span id="midArticle_3"/>Suspected live samples sourced to Dugway have already beentraced going to nine U.S. states and a U.S. air base in SouthKorea over a period from March 2014 to April 2015 before beingdiscovered this month.

<span id="midArticle_4"/>The U.S. military says there are no known suspectedinfections or risks to the general public. Four U.S. civilianshave begun taking preventive measures that usually include theanthrax vaccine, antibiotics or both.

<span id="midArticle_5"/> <span class="first-article-divide"/>Twenty-two people at the base in South Korea were also givenprecautionary medical measures although none of them has shownsigns of exposure.

<span id="midArticle_6"/>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasbegun an investigation.

<span id="midArticle_7"/> <span class="second-article-divide"/>Little is known about the sample sent to Australia,including the type of laboratory that received it. The U.S.defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said thesample was tested after the latest disclosure as part of theongoing investigation into the handling of anthrax samples.

<span id="midArticle_8"/>The Pentagon declined comment, saying it was trying togather facts.

<span id="midArticle_9"/>It was unclear how many other samples from Dugway have beentested or what the results of those tests are.

<span id="midArticle_10"/> <span class="third-article-divide"/>On Thursday, the Army's top general said human errorprobably was not the cause, saying preliminary informationsuggested U.S. personnel at Dugway appeared to correctly followofficial procedures.

<span id="midArticle_11"/>The Pentagon was more cautious on Friday.

<span id="midArticle_12"/>"There is an ongoing investigation and we need to let thisdevelop," said Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

<span id="midArticle_13"/>(Editing by Susan Heavey and Will Dunham)

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