Table 1. High risk human-caused pathogen exposure events from 1975–2016.
| Year | Location | Pathogen | Class | Program Type | Event Type | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 A | Plum Island, NY (US) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Biodefense | Accident | 2 Steers o |
| 1977-78 D | Global | H1N1 Influenza | Viral | Unclear | Accident | Millions infected 23 |
| 1978 A | Plum Island, NY (US) | Viral | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Biodefense | Accident | Many Cows o |
| 1978 D | University of Birmingham Medical
School (UK) |
Smallpox | Bacterial | Biodefense | Accident | 1 Killed |
| 1979 D | Sverdlovsk (Russia) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Bioweapon | Accident | 100+ died 25 |
| Late 1970s | South Africa + | Cholera | Bacterial | Bioweapon | Intentional | Unclear |
| Late 1970s | Rhodesia | Anthrax (and
others + ) |
Bacterial | Bioweapon | Intentional | 1,000s infected, 82+ died 26 |
| 1980 A | Plum Island, NY (US) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Biodefense | Accident | 9 Steer |
| 1980s | Iraq | Various + | Unknown | Bioweapon | Human Testing | Unknown |
| 1981 A | Plum Island, NY (US) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Biodefense | Accident | 4 Steer |
| 1987 A | Plum Island, NY (US) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Biodefense | Accident | 1 Heifer |
| 1990 D | Koltsovo, Russia | Marburg | Viral | Biodefense | Accident | 1 Infection 27 |
| 1993 | Tokyo (Japan) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Non-State | Bioterrorism | Failure 28 |
| 1999 D | Oblivskaya (Russia) + | CCHF-like Virus | Viral | Bioweapon | (Alleged) Accident | 69 Hospitalized, 6 dead 29 |
| 2000s Onward | North Korea | Various + | Unknown | Bioweapon | Human Testing | Unknown |
| 2001 D | United States Postal System (US) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Non-State | Bioterrorism | 22 infected, 5 died |
| 2002 A | University of Texas, Houston (US) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2002 A | Fort Detrick, MD (US) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Biodefense | No infections |
| 2002 A | Unclear (US) | West Nile Virus | Viral | Research | Accident | 1 serroconversion, with mild symptoms |
| 2003–2006 | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2003 D | Texas A&M (US) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | Missing Specimens |
| 2003 A | National Defense University,
Taipei (Taiwan) |
SARS-CoV | Viral | Research | Accident | BSL-4 facility, pathogen spread to BSL-2, 1
researcher infected |
| 2003 A | Singapore (US) | West Nile and
Sars-CoV |
Viral | Research | Accident | BSL-3 facility, 1 Student Infected |
| 2003 A | University of New Mexico (US) | Redacted
A
,
Anthrax C |
Unknown, Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Researcher received prophylactic treatment |
| 2003 A | Columbus, Ohio (US) | West Nile Virus | Viral | Research | Transit Accident | 50 Federal Express workers exposed 30 |
| 2004 A | National Institute of Virology,
Beijing (China) |
SARS-CoV | Viral | Research | Accident | BSL-2 laboratory, 2 researchers infected, spread
to 6 A or 11 D in the community, and, one of the researcher’s mother, who was the first identified case, died. |
| 2003–2006 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2003–4 A | Infectious Disease Research, Inc.,
Seattle, WA (US) |
Tuberculosis | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 3 subclinical infections |
| 2004 | Plum Island, NY (US) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Research | Accident | 2 Cattle |
| 2004 A, B, D | VECTOR (Russia) | Ebola | Viral | Biodefense | Needlestick | 1 Killed |
| 2004 A | Children’s Hospital and Research
Center, Oakland (US) |
Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 5 Workers Exposed |
| 2004 A | Fort Detrick, MD (US) | Ebola | Viral | Biodefense | Needlestick | No infection |
| 2004 A | NIH, Bethesda, MD (US) | Various | Unknown | Research | Infrastructure Accident | No Exposure |
| 2004 A | University of Illinois at Chicago
(US) |
Various | Unknown | Research | Noncompliance | No Exposure |
| 2004 A, D | Boston University | Tularemia | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 3 infections |
| 2004 A | UMDNJ (US) | Plague | Bacterial | Research | Missing Specimens | 3 mice (intentional exposure.) |
| 2004-5 A, D | International | H2N2 Influenza | Viral | Other | Diagnostic Trial Test | Sent to 2,750 US Labs and 3,747 International
Labs. No infections |
| 2005 A, C | Medical University of Ohio (US) | Valley Fever | Fungal | Research | Aerosolization Accident | 1 student exposed |
| 2005 A | UNC Chapel Hill (US) | Tuberculosis | Bacterial | Research | Biocontainment loss | no infections |
| 2005 A, C | University of Chicago (US) | Anthrax or
Plague |
Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Possible infection |
| 2005 C | UC Berkeley (US) | Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever |
Viral | Research | Accident | Exposure (extent unclear) |
| 2005 A | Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory to Palm Beach, FL (US) |
Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Transit Accident | 2 workers exposed |
| 2005-6 A | University of Wisconsin Madison
(US) |
Ebola | Viral | Research | Misclassified | Treated as Biosafety Class (BSL-2) |
| 2006 A, C | Texas A&M (US) | Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Aerosolization Accident | 3 Workers |
| 2006 A, C | Texas A&M (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Researcher |
| 2006 A | University of Texas Austin (US) | H3N2 | Viral | Research | Accident | 1 Researcher exposed |
| 2006 A | Texas A&M (US) | Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Missing Specimens | 1 Mouse |
| 2007 A | Pirbright (UK) | Foot-and-Mouth
Disease |
Viral | Research | Accident | 4 Farm Sites |
| 2007 A | University of Texas Houston
Medical Center (US) |
Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 4 Researchers exposed, prophylaxis refused |
| 2007 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2008 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Cow Infected |
| 2007 A | University of Mississippi Medical
Center |
Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Flask Break | 1 Student Exposed |
| 2008 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2009 D | Hamburg (Germany) | Ebola | Viral | Research | Needlestick | 1 Researcher Exposed, Innoculated 31 |
| 2009 D | University of Chicago (US) | Plague | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Killed 21 |
| 2009 B | Unknown × (US) | Tularemia | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2010 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2010 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2010 B | Unknown × (US) | Classical Swine
Fever |
Viral | Research | Accident | 2 Animals Infected |
| 2010 D | Unknown (US) | Cowpox | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected 8, 9 |
| 2011 D | Australia | Dengue | Research | Accident | 1 Infected 32 | |
| 2011 | University of Chicago (US) | Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | |
| 2012 B | Unknown × (US) | Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Serroconversion |
| 2012 B | Unknown (Separate from Above)
x
(US) |
Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Serroconversion |
| 2013 B | Unknown × (US) | Melioidosis | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2013 B | Unknown × (US) | Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Infected |
| 2014 B | Unknown Veterinary Medical
Teaching Hospital × (US) |
Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 2 Infected |
| 2014 | South Korea | Dengue | Viral | Research | Accident | 1 Infected 33 |
| 2015 B | Unknown University Research
Lab × (US) |
Q-Fever | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 2 Serroconversions |
| 2015 B | Unknown Government Research
Lab × (US) |
Brucella | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 1 Serroconversion |
| 2016 D | National Center for Foreign
Animal Disease in Winnipeg (Canada) |
Anthrax | Bacterial | Research | Accident | 17 |
Sources:
A National Bio-and Agro-Defense Facility's Environmental Impact Statement 18
B FSAP reports to Congress 19
C Reports uncovered by the Sunshine Project 20
D Individual reports and news articles
o Many agricultural infections that infect animals outside of laboratories are not fully traced, but all livestock potentially exposed or infected are slaughtered. In such cases, the exact extent is unknown.
+ These are credible allegations, albeit with various degrees of support from published epidemiological research or documentation of the events.
× Discussed in DHS Select Agent reports, further details are unavailable.