The mistakes that led to an outbreak of foot and mouth on an English farm in August were not the first safety lapse at a British animal health lab this year.
A faulty air system in an Institute for Animal Health (IAH) lab handling cattle infected with bovine TB could have exposed up to 14 members of staff – and two inspectors – to the pathogen.
The problem surfaced on 1 February at the lab in Compton, Berkshire, during a routine inspection by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which monitors safety at labs working with pathogens capable of infecting humans.…
