Deadly anthrax studied at Palm Bay biolab
PALM BAY – After opening boxes shipped from a research institute in September 2005, two MRIGlobal laboratory technicians noticed an unidentified liquid lining a bag that contained vials of Bacillus anthracis — the bacteria that causes anthrax.
Several of the samples had been inadequately sealed. And the liquid was immediately deemed biohazardous, said Pam Sharitz-Tesch, MRIGlobal external communications manager.
Palm Bay police officers and firefighters rushed to the scene and cordoned off the Treeland Boulevard biolab. Both lab technicians were treated at an occupational health clinic, and two contractors who were elsewhere in the building went to the emergency room as a precaution, Sharitz-Tesch said.
No one contracted anthrax, and the deadly disease did not escape the facility. But MRIGlobal changed its lab protocol and emergency-notification procedures after the scare.
"In response to the incident, MRIGlobal changed protocol to require (that) all tertiary shipping boxes and containers must be opened in a biological safety cabinet," Sharitz-Tesch said.
Since September 2009, the lab has conducted annual "tabletop exercises" with Palm Bay first responders, as well as the FBI, hazardous material teams and Brevard County emergency management officials, Sharitz-Tesch said.
High-profile lab accidents last year with anthrax, Ebola and bird flu at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the discovery of forgotten vials of deadly smallpox virus at the National Institutes of Health raised widespread concerns about lab safety and security nationwide, and whether current oversight is adequate to protect workers and the public.
Then this week, the Department of Defense disclosed one of its labs in Utah mistakenly sent samples of live anthrax — instead of killed specimens — to labs in as many as nine states.
The USA TODAY Network of reporters identified more than 200 high-containment lab facilities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia operated by government agencies, universities and private companies. Three Florida biolabs were identified: MRIGlobal in Palm Bay, the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute in Gainesville, and The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter.
Laboratories operate at one of four biological containment levels, ranging from biosafety level 1 (BSL-1), used for the least risky pathogens, to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4), which is used for deadly pathogens that lack treatments. The Sunshine State facilities are BSL-3 labs.
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MRIGlobal does chemical, biological and explosives defense work for the U.S. Department of Defense, other federal agencies and clients. The company has operations in nine states and the District of Columbia, according to its website.
The 52,000-square-foot facility near Eastern Florida State College focuses on biodefense programs and evaluation of detection equipment, according to one of its brochures.
In 2013, MRIGlobal was awarded a contract worth up to $11.96 million to develop tests for the diagnosis of anthrax, plague and tularemia in people suspected of being infected, federal records show.
During MRIGlobal's annual Palm Bay tabletop exercises, officials train for hypothetical accidents such as a lab employee becoming contaminated after suffering a cut, said Kimberly Prosser, Brevard County emergency management director.
The last tabletop exercise occurred in October, Prosser said.
"I think that we have extremely good participation in those annual exercises, and a good working relationship with all the entities that would be involved," Prosser said.
During a separate training drill this spring, Palm Bay Police Lt. Mike Bandish said seven or eight police officers and a K-9 unit entered MRIGlobal and familiarized themselves with the interior layout. That mock alarm call simulated an unknown intruder breaking into the building.
"We actually respond officers out to the location and evaluate their response with MRIGlobal security. We then debrief and see how we can improve our response to the lab in the future. We do this at least once a year," Bandish said.
Since the 2005 anthrax scare, Sharitz-Tesch said no similar or noteworthy incidents been reported at MRIGlobal's Palm Bay lab.
The University of Florida operates at least seven BSL-3 spaces at its Emerging Pathogens Institute on the campus in Gainesville, according to a university website. The 80,000-square-foot facility has four BSL-3 suites and three BSL-3 rooftop greenhouses.
Janine Sikes, a university spokeswoman, declined to answer questions about how many labs are on campus.
Sikes said areas of research include the study of vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and dengue, influenza, tuberculosis, food-borne illnesses such as cholera, plant pathogens such as citrus greening, and antibiotic resistance infections including MRSA.
The main objectives of the research are to preserve health and to prevent or contain new and re-emerging diseases. A recent example is the work of Ira Longini Jr., a professor of biostatistics, who is part of the World Health Organization team working on an Ebola vaccine, Sikes said.
University of Florida police train with the university's Environmental Health & Safety personnel in case of biological emergency, Police Maj. Brad Barber said.
"Most of our plans are confidential. But suffice it to say, they are in place," Barber said.
Last July, about 130 Gainesville-area first responders toured the labs for emergency-scenario training, said Karen Gillis, Environmental Health & Safety biological safety officer.
The Scripps Research Institute, a non-profit biomedical research organization headquartered in California, operates BSL-3 facilities at its Florida campus in Jupiter, according to heavily redacted minutes of the organization's Institutional Biosafety Committee.
Scripps attorney Kevin Cahill, in response to questions from USA TODAY, said in an email that the Florida campus has one BSL-3 suite and one animal BSL-3 suite that are used for work with pathogens such as HIV and bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Although The Scripps Research Institute has previously been registered to work with federally regulated select agents and has done such work in the past, the organization's California and Florida facilities "are not currently" registered to work with them, Cahill said.
Over the past year, Jupiter police responded to the Scripps institute for various issues — crash, disturbance, assault, fraud, civil and intoxicated-person calls — but none of the incidents involved hazardous material, said Officer Adam Brown, police spokesman.
Bill Johnson is Palm Beach County's emergency management director. Unlike Brevard's, he said his agency does not conduct specific lab training drills with The Scripps Research Institute.
"We have a robust hazardous materials program. We inspect over 100 hazardous material sites. We work with a lot of stakeholders throughout the year in planning and preparing for hazardous materials. I feel pretty confident in the entire system and the way it operates," Johnson said.
USA Today Network reporters Alison Young and Emily Lecoz contributed to this story. Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter