Reuters reporters Julie Steenhuysen, Sharon Begley and Hilary Russ were far ahead of our competitors on news of safety lapses at the labs run by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, Reuters was first to report on June 19 that lapses in laboratory safety may have exposed dozens of workers to anthrax bacteria at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, putting a new focus on how the nation handles research into deadly pathogens. We then followed up with a series of exclusive stories. The first detailed the actions inside the laboratory that led to the mishap. The second was the first to report the CDC’s internal response of reassigning the lab’s director. The third chronicled how the agency had failed to heed its own recommendations issued years ago for ensuring that federal workers, and the public at large, remain safe. The stories struck a careful balance between explaining the rationale for such scientific work, including the need to understand how to prevent a new pandemic or to respond to a bioterror attack involving Ebola or avian flu, and the concerns within the research community about the safety guidelines employed at more than 1,400 U.S. high security laboratories.
