"First Ever Biosafety Report Details 199 Mishaps With Toxic Agents"

"The Federal Select Agent Program, which oversees dangerous substances such as anthrax and bird flu in federal, academic and private labs, reported 199 incidents in which lab workers were potentially exposed to infectious or toxic agents in 2015, though there were no losses of select agents.

No lab workers became sick, according to the first ever report issued by the program, which is run jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture. The reports are to be issued annually.

The handling of select agents has been under fire since 2014 when the CDC and other federal labs reported several incidents of mishandling of dangerous pathogens."

Julie Steenhuysen reports for Reuters June 30, 2016.