In the middle of a hepatitis outbreak, U.S. shutters the one CDC lab that could help

[Nevilledog]

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5355131/hepatitis-cdc-lab-outbreak-ghost


After people started testing positive for hepatitis C in a coastal Florida town in December, state officials collected blood from patients, wrapped their specimens in dry ice and mailed them straight to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga.

The hepatitis C virus, which is spread through contact with infected blood and can lead to deadly liver cancer, is notoriously hard to identify. But if anyone could understand what was happening in Florida, it would be the Division of Viral Hepatitis in the CDC's headquarters.

Using samples from the laboratory's collection of nearly 1 million frozen specimens, scientists helped make the initial discovery of the hepatitis C virus in the 1980s. In 2020, that research was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The scientists at the lab knew what they were doing. Quickly, they analyzed the blood from Florida using their custom software and found that nine cases were genetically linked to the same pain clinic, where it was later discovered that a doctor was improperly reusing injection vials. By March, officials in Florida had restricted the doctor's medical license to limit the spread of the virus and packaged new patient samples to send to the CDC for testing, CDC employees told NPR.

*snip*

[Irish_Dem]

1. Make America Sick Again.