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Laboratories and Involved a Range of Methods and Pathogens Page 22 GAO-16-642 Inactivation of Pathogens overall risk of incomplete inactivation or the contribution of the pathogen, type of laboratory, or method of inactivation to the overall risk. Figure 3: Number of Identified Incidents Involving Incomplete Inactivation from 2003 through 2015 by Pathogen, Laboratory Type, and Method, as Derived from a Review of Information from the Federal Select Agent Program Eight of the 21 identified incidents involving incomplete inactivation that occurred from 2003 through 2015 involved Bacillus anthracis. This finding reflects a theme heard during our expert meeting and interviews that Bacillus anthracis, especially in spore form,39 is one of the most difficult pathogens to inactivate. One high-profile incident occurred at DOD’s Life Sciences Division at Dugway Proving Ground (Dugway) in Utah over the course of 12 years, in which 575 shipments of incompletely inactivated Bacillus anthracis were sent to 194 laboratories and contractors around the world from 2004 through 2015 (see fig. 4). A DOD review of the incident, completed in December 2015, determined that there was insufficient evidence to establish a single failure as the proximate cause for the inadvertent shipment of incompletely inactivated Bacillus 39Spores are thick-walled resting cells produced by some bacteria and fungi that are capable of survival in unfavorable environments and are more resistant to antimicrobial agents than vegetative cells. Page 23 GAO-16-642 Inactivation of Pathogens anthracis.
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