A search of National Institutes of Health (NIH) laboratories for forgotten infectious agents has turned up a handful of dangerous bacteria and toxins in labs not approved to handle them, according toThe Washington Post, which broke the story late Friday.

The samples included two vials of plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis); two vials of Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes the tropical disease melioidosis; three vials of tularemia bacteria; two vials of botulinum toxin; and a sample of deadly ricin in an old collection dating to 1914. These agents and toxins are all on the federal select agent list, which means they must be registered and handled only by approved labs.

The Post also reported that in July, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found samples of staphylococcal enterotoxin, which can cause food poisoning, in an unapproved lab. The finds came as part of a sweep for select agents at NIH and other federal agencies launched after six vials of live smallpox dated 1954 were found in July in a cold storage room in an FDA lab on the NIH campus.

A 5 September memo from NIH Director Francis Collins to staff (see below) says that the bacteria samples were all stored at NIH’s Clinical Center. The Burkholderia pseudomallei samples were an isolate from a patient; the others were testing samples. Ricin, a substance derived from castor beans that has been used in bioterror attacks, “has legitimate lab uses in very small quantities,” but was not in use in this lab, the memo says. As for botulinum toxin, the public may know it best as Botox, the substance injected in foreheads to erase wrinkles.

Collins describes the discoveries as “a small number of instances where select agents were improperly stored.” Nobody was exposed to the agents and toxins, which were in sealed containers. Still, “[t]he finding of these agents and toxins highlights the need for constant vigilance in monitoring laboratory materials in compliance with federal regulations on biosafety,” Collins wrote. NIH expects to issue a status report on its campuswide inventory in early October.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE NIH MEMO: