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Underground > Laboratory >

Monkey Escapes Bioterrorism Lab.

13:35 / 25.02.03

File this one under "could be much worse":

Monkey's escape may sink biodefense lab
Opponents of proposed UC Davis facility go ape over security breach

A "breeder" monkey slips past the defenses of a California lab where (presumably) primates could soon be infected with bioterrorism agents for research.

The 4-pound rhesus macaque monkey vanished two weeks ago as her cage was being cleaned at the California National Primate Research Center, where she was used for breeding purposes and was "disease free," according to the university.

But the primate's disappearance is raising grave concerns among the many opponents of a proposed $150 million biocontainment facility that would be entrusted to study the world's most dangerous diseases.

"A lot of people are anxious about security and the university's ability to operate a lab with such high security needs," said Davis City Councilwoman Sue Greenwald. "This doesn't reassure citizens who have the perception that the proposed facility cannot be failsafe."

and

The facility would be the only Biosafety Level 4 lab on the West Coast, and it would house such highly infectious and deadly organisms as anthrax, smallpox, the Ebola virus and the plague. Monkeys for the Level 4 lab would be supplied by the California National Primate Research Center -- from which the monkey escaped.

EEE!!! EEE!!! EEE!!!

13:42 / 25.02.03

Monkeybears, that's all I can say.

01:38 / 26.02.03

They swear that the new facilities would have armed guards, and a monkey escape would be impossible. But rhesus monkeys are wee moving targets with no respect for "Halt! In the name of Science!" When I was at Tulane a few rhesus monkeys went missing, but they probably got eaten by the nutria.

A

05:36 / 27.02.03

Once again, it seems that monkeys are more intelligent than those who would perform dubious scientific research on them.

Locust No longer

12:11 / 27.02.03

I hope that monkey has a long, wonderful life.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:32 / 27.02.03

From the article, it looks like the monkey might have been stolen rather than run off by itself. Which leads to the even more disturbing possibility that someone was able to walk out of the lab with a (potentially anthrax-filled) monkey.

"Hey! You! What's that under your coat?"
"This? Uhhh... nothing. It- it's my, er, automatic chest massager! Uh, keeps the muscles toned and stuff."
"Oh, okay-- hey, wait a minute! Is that a tail?"
"No, that's my... errr... intestinal parasite. Helps with the weight loss, y'know. Must just have popped his head out of my navel for some air."
"Oh, okay-- hey, what was that noise? Sounded like a squealing monkey to me!"
"That? Erm, no! That's my pager. Oh look-- a compatible kidney's just become availiable for my transplant! Must dash!"
"Have a nice day!"

I hope to hell they never get to open this facility.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:39 / 27.02.03

Also: When they say the monkey was "disease free" do they mean "free of all diseases"? Or do they just mean "free of the kind of diseases we were planning to inject into this critter's progeny"? Because monkeys aren't exactly noted for disease freeness. I'm thinking TB, rabies...

19:39 / 27.02.03

I'm sort of surprised that news of this came out. Then again, this occurred at a university. Most of the time you dont hear anything about such stuff. Like Plum Island. I bet that's where this West Nile virus really came from. And no, it's not really the West Nile virus, it is of greater resemblance to a Japanese strain but it's not exact. It's a completely new virus.

One of the things I've heard is that they had some power outages not too long ago (6 months ago maybe) and they had to put duct tape around some doors to seal them. May be that's where the Homeland yadda yadda department got the idea.

22:38 / 27.02.03

Homeland Security Tip #356: If your friend/lover/close family member starts t oact funn any their eyes turn orange, you have 20 seconds to kill them. Click "OK" for next tip.

A

06:25 / 28.02.03

I, for one, hope that the monkey returns to exact terrible vengeance from his former tormentors.

15:14 / 13.03.03

Two Dozen Monkeys Flee Research Center

excerpt: The monkeys are classified as disease-free and posed no health risk to humans, but workers trying to capture the animals wore protective gowns and gloves as a standard precaution, said Fran Simon, a spokeswoman for the Tulane Regional Primate Center.

By Wednesday, eight of the 24 rhesus macaques remained on the loose.

``When they get hungry enough, they'll come back,'' Simon said.

The Tulane Regional Primate Research Center, established in 1964, is the largest of eight federally funded primate research centers, with 500 acres of land, eight buildings and about 5,000 monkeys. Its main study area is infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites.