WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Moreover, Work ordered Defense Department laboratories to test all previously inactivated spore-forming anthrax in their inventory.
“After consulting with Secretary [Ashton] Carter, Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work ordered today a comprehensive review of Department of Defense laboratory procedures, processes and protocols associated with inactivating spore-forming anthrax,” the statement, issued on Friday, said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Defense Department said they were investigating the anthrax samples that were accidentally shipped from a Pentagon laboratory in Utah.
The Defense Department noted that 24 laboratories in 11 US states and in two foreign countries are believed to have received suspect samples.
It also said, however, there is no known risks to the general public and an extremely low risk to laboratory workers.
On Thursday, CDC spokesperson Jason McDonald told Sputnik that four individuals have been asked to take antibiotics as a precautionary measure regarding the accidental shipment of anthrax.
