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BY: @MattMackowiak | Subscribe to the daily email here | | FRIDAY || 2/7/25 | | Good Friday afternoon.
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> Become a PAID subscriber for $5/mo or $50/yr here. | | | “Galveston biolabs disclose mishaps that potentially exposed workers to infectious diseases,” Houston Chronicle's Brian Rausch — “The mistake happened in an instant.
Inside one of the biosafety level 4 labs at the Galveston National Laboratory – where scientists wear full-body moonsuit-like gear as they study some of the world’s most dangerous microbes – a lab worker was uncapping a needle.
The worker had just been handling a guinea pig that was infected with Chapare virus, which has caused deadly outbreaks of a hemorrhagic fever disease in Bolivia and for which there is no treatment other than fluids and supportive care.
As the lab worker uncapped the new needle, it accidentally plunged through their layered gloves and into their finger.
The mishap last August is one of three incidents last year where workers were potentially exposed to infectious pathogens inside research labs at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, according to an annual biosafety incident summary lab officials released this week.
UTMB officials said none of the lab workers were infected in the 2024 safety breaches, which also involved an incident in October in with anthrax bacteria, which can cause serious disease but is not contagious, and in December with Mayaro virus, which is spread by mosquitos and tends to cause a mild disease that includes fever, aches and a rash. | » BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $7/mo | Although lab officials classified each incident as a potential exposure to the workers, they said the risks in each case were very low because of the many layers of precautions used in the labs.
“Because of the practices we have, we’ve never had a person become ill working in a lab,” Gene Olinger, director of the Galveston National Laboratory, told Houston Landing.
The Galveston National Lab and the UTMB-Galveston campus’ Robert E. Shope, MD, Laboratory are among only about 15 lab facilities in North America that have labs operating at biosafety level 4 (BSL-4), the highest level of containment used for studying the most dangerous pathogens. | » BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $70/yr | For many years, UTMB has posted a list with synopsis information about incidents involving potential worker exposures at these two BSL-4 lab facilities and also the campus’ lower level research labs that study less dangerous pathogens. UTMB officials updated the list late Tuesday, adding the three 2024 incidents to their previous disclosure of 66 other incidents dating back to 2002.
The list does not include research lab incidents where UTMB officials determined there was no potential exposure. Over the years, the disclosed potential exposures have included needlesticks, cuts, animal bites, spilled specimens and a wide range of pathogens including Marburg virus, Nipah virus, Dengue virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and SARS-CoV-2. But none have resulted in any worker becoming infected, lab officials emphasized.
“I always talk about trust and transparency,” Olinger said. “Trust is we tell you that we have measures in place to protect the community. Transparency is saying this is what’s happening and sharing it.”
Each of the three incidents disclosed for 2024 had a low likelihood for the worker becoming infected, lab officials told the Landing. But each was treated as a potential exposure out of “an abundance of caution,” they said.
During the Chapare virus experiment where the needlestick incident occurred on Aug. 13, the lab worker had disinfected their gloved hands after handling the infected guinea pig. But not enough time had passed to ensure the chemical had fully inactivated any virus on the surface of the worker’s gloves, officials said. This created the potential for virus to be carried by the unused needle when it passed through the glove and into the person’s finger.
“The likelihood of any true exposure that could result in infection was profoundly low,” said Dr. Susan McLellan, a physician and the labs’ biosafety director for research-related infectious pathogens, who was consulted on the worker’s case." Houston Landing | | FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS HAVE ENDED: As of July 11, 2022, we have moved to a paywall for free subscribers. Free subscribers will only receive the top story in their morning email. Free subscribers will need to become paid subscribers to receive full story summaries. | | | AAS: “Will Texas see more Stargate data centers? OpenAI says it's likely” AAS ($) | | | DMN: “Club for Growth launches Texas campaign to boost school choice” DMN ($) | | | TX TRIB: “Texas attorney general to join efforts to enforce state standards at Harris County Jail” Houston Landing | HOU CHRON: “Texas Education Agency investigates 60 more teachers for cheating” Texas Tribune | | | SA REPORT: “Meet the architects behind San Antonio’s newest airport terminal, set to open in 2028” SA Report | | | TX TRIB: “Border Patrol chief calls report that agents will board buses to check students’ citizenship “absurd”” Texas Tribune
TX TRIB: “Trump nominates Melinda Hildebrand as US ambassador to Costa Rica”” Houston Chronicle ($) | | | DMN: “Sen. John Cornyn wants to play hardball as Texas seeks $11 billion for border costs” DMN ($) | | | SAEN: “USAA walloped by Las Vegas jury with more than $100M verdict” SAEN ($) | | | > TX TRIB: "Foster child death linked to state-contracted home prompts criminal investigation" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Health care access and economic insecurity top a list of challenges for Texas children" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Nearly 900 Texas children are waitlisted for a mental health program billed as an alternative to foster care" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Why oil and gas companies want state oversight for carbon dioxide injection" TX TRIB
> TX MONTHLY: "The Texan Taking the Trump Administration to Court" TX MONTHLY
> DMN: "Texas deer breeder convicted in white-tailed deer smuggling operation" DMN
> HOU CHRON: "Most Texans back abortion ban exceptions for rape, fetal anomaly: poll" HOU CHRON
> DMN: "Thousands notified of McKinney data breach. Here’s how to stay safe" DMN
> TX TRIB: "Donald Trump’s immigration executive orders: Tracking the most impactful changes" TX TRIB
> FWST: "Soft drinks used as disguise for 120 pounds of cocaine, Texas border cops say" FWST
> HOU CHRON: "60 more Texas teachers under investigation for statewide cheating scandal. See the full list." HOU CHRON
> AP: "OpenAI looks across US for sites to build its Trump-backed Stargate AI data centers" AP
> TX TRIB: "Houston man pardoned by Trump arrested on child sex charge" TX TRIB
> AP: "House lawmakers push to ban AI app DeepSeek from US government devices" AP
> DMN: "AG Paxton probes schools on transgender athlete policies" DMN
> HOU CHRON: "Footage shows man shot by police while walking away and holding gun" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Federal judge clears Mattress Firm's $4B sale to Tempur Sealy" HOU CHRON
> DMN: "The problem with shoe-salesman-turned-GM Nico Harrison’s new Mavs" DMN
> DMN: "‘Deny, defend, depose’: Elon Musk mural in Texas is vandalized" DMN
> DMN: "Spencer Dinwiddie empathizes with Mavs fans after Luka Doncic trade" DMN
> DMN: "Dallas Cowboys great Darren Woodson misses out on Hall of Fame, again" DMN
> DMN: "Mavs concerned about safety in return to Dallas, per TNT broadcast" DMN
> DMN: "Man arrested in connection with fatal shooting in Far East Dallas" DMN
> HOU CHRON: "Interstate 45 at Crosstimbers reopened after deadly wrong-way crash" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "30,000 tons of food stuck in Houston after Trump halts foreign aid" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Houston Jan. 6 pardonee wanted for online solicitation of child arrested" HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Texas Senate passes $1B education savings account proposal" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> FWST: "CKH Group Appoints Their First Female CEO, Kateryna Kudrenko" FWST
> HOU CHRON: "Rockets get Cody Zeller, draft pick from Hawks before NBA trade deadline " HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Trae tha Truth and Fiel plan rally supporting Houston's immigrant community" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "HISD high school stages mass walkout in protest of immigration crackdown" HOU CHRON
> LUBBOCK A-J: "NiJaree Canady's decision to join Texas Tech softball goes much deeper than NIL money" LUBBOCK A-J
> SAEN: "Suspected robber shot, killed by beauty salon employee, San Antonio police say" SAEN
> SAEN: "Out-of-state homebuilders buy into the market amid Texas construction boom" SAEN
> SAEN: "Trump and Jay Monahan meet at White House as PGA Tour deal with Saudis gets closer" SAEN | | | Last night's Texas sports score:
> NBA: Dallas 127, Boston 120
> NBA: Minnesota 127, Houston 114
> NCAAM: Utah Valley 94, UT-Arlington 73
> NCAAM: Abilene Christian 86, Utah Tech 72
> NCAAM: Seattle 91, Tarleton State 54
This weekend''s Texas sports schedule:
Fri
> 6pm: NBA: San Antonio at Charlotte
> 9:30pm: NHL: Dallas at Los Angeles (ESPN+)
Sat
> 11am: NCAAM: TCU at #8 Iowa State (ESPN+)
> 12pm: NCAAM: Texas at Vanderbilt (SEC Network)
> 1pm: NCAAM: UCF at Baylor (ESPN+)
> 2pm: NBA: Houston at Dallas
> 2pm: NCAAM: Tulane at North Texas (ESPN+)
> 2:30pm: NCAAM: #10 Texas A&M at #15 Missouri (SEC Network)
> 2:30pm: NCAAM: Rice at Charlotte (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: #5 Houston at Colorado (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: Sam Houston State at Liberty (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: East Texas A&M at Nicholls (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: Tarleton State at Utah Valley (ESPN+)
> 3:30pm: NCAAM: New Orleans at Houston Christian (ESPN+)
> 4pm: NCAAM: Texas State at Central Michigan (ESPN+)
> 4:30pm: NCAAM: Bethune-Cookman at Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Stephen F. Austin (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Florida A&M at Texas Southern (SWAC)
> 5pm: NCAAM: SE Louisiana at Incarnate Word (ESPN+)
> 6pm: NBA: San Antonio at Orlando
> 6pm: NCAAM: UT-RGV at Lamar (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NCAAM: UT-Arlington at Seattle (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NCAAM: East Carolina at UTSA (ESPNU)
> 7:30pm: NCAAM: Abilene Christian at Southern Utah (ESPN+)
> 8pm: NCAAM: UTEP at New Mexico State (ESPN+)
> 9pm: NHL: Dallas at San Jose (ESPN+)
> 9:30pm: NCAAM: #13 Texas Tech at #20 Arizona (ESPN)
Sun
> 12pm: NBA: Toronto at Houston
DALLAS COWBOYS: "Jerry Jones: Cowboys still in ‘win now’ mode as Super Bowl passes by" DMN ($)
DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Mavericks coach Kidd expects fans to be unhappy when team returns to Dallas after Doncic trade" AP
HOUSTON ROCKETS: "Edwards scores 41 to lift Timberwolves over Houston 127-114" AP
TEXAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: "Booker, Holle lead No. 4 Texas to 87-66 win over No. 24 Vanderbilt" AP
TEXAS RANGERS: "5 Rangers spring training storylines: Rediscover World Series ways?" DMN ($)
SMU ATHLETICS: "SMU athletic director Rick Hart stepping down" DMN ($) | |
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