Lab Worker Dies After Infection

May 03, 2012

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An infectious disease researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday after being infected with Neisseria meningitides, the bacterium he worked with in the lab, reports the San Jose Mercury News. The man, whose name was not released, had been investigating a vaccine against the bacteria. "He left the lab around 5 pm" Friday, says Harry Lampiris, the chief of the infectious diseases division at the VA. "He had no symptoms at all." The San Jose Mercury News adds that the man began feeling ill about two hours later.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death and the safety protocols at the lab, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local officials are also looking into what occurred, the Mercury News adds.

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