The CDC noted that these potentially infectious agents fall into “risk group 2 and risk group 3.”[1] Risk Group 2 agents “are associated with human disease which is rarely serious and for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are often available, [and] [t]hese agents represent a moderate risk to an individual but a low risk to the community.[2] Risk Group 3 pathogens are “associated with serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions may be available. These agents represent a high risk to an individual but a low risk to the community.”[3] The CDC also noted that American laboratories supplied many of these pathogens.[4] There was also evidence that imported pathogens were present in the Reedley Biolab.
CDC officials confirmed that the CDC made this list of pathogens based solely on the labels that were placed on samples. The CDC did not test these samples to assess whether the listed labels were correct or otherwise in a cipher that the workers used for a more dangerous pathogen. It likewise did not test any of the apparent pathogen samples that were labeled in a code (i.e., a combination of partial Mandarin symbols or English letters with numbers) despite the fact that neither the CDC nor local officials ever found a key to decipher the code.[5] The CDC did not even test the wholly unlabeled samples. It did not test the samples labeled “COVID,” even though both SARS-CoV and a chimeric version of the currently endemic COVID-19 are both Select Agents—biological agents that the
- ↑ In Re: Property Locate at 850 “I” Street, Reedley, California 93654, No. 23CECG00912, (Cal. Super. Ct. Jun. 15, 2023) at Ex. D – CDC Letter. Based on their physical appearance, the CDC noted that it believed that the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Mycobacteriumtuberculosis (RG3 agents) appear . . . to be diagnostic specimens, not isolates or culture.” It did not test the substance or engage in further review to confirm this hypothesis.
- ↑ Risk Groups, Public Health Emergency (Nov. 13, 2015).
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ In Re: Property Locate at 850 “I” Street, Reedley, California 93654, No. 23CECG00912, (Cal. Super. Ct. Jun. 15, 2023) at Ex. F – Email Correspondence.
- ↑ The CDC report does note, however, that “representative[s] provided a limited key that was reported to contain proprietary or trade secret information.” Id. at Ex. D – CDC Letter.
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