Three Bubonic Mice, See How They Run …

According to the AP, there are three infected mice with Bubonic Plague bacterium missing from a NJ Lab at the Public Health Research Institute on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. This lab conducts bio terrorism research for the federal government. Health experts claim that there is little threat to the public, yet officials stated the following:

Federal official said the mice may never be accounted for. Among other things, the rodents may have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced in a paperwork error.

Even though the mice probably are warm and fuzzy, this story does not give me one on so many levels:

Three mice infected with the bacteria responsible for bubonic plague apparently disappeared from a laboratory about two weeks ago, and authorities launched a search though health experts said there was scant public risk.

The mice were unaccounted-for at the Public Health Research Institute, which is on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and conducts bio terrorism research for the federal government.

Federal official said the mice may never be accounted for. Among other things, the rodents may have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced in a paperwork error.

If the mice got outside the lab, they would have already died from the disease, state Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs said.

The possibility of theft prompted the institute to interrogate two dozen of its employees and conduct lie detector tests, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Thursday.

The FBI said it was investigating. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also investigating, the newspaper reported.

University officials did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday morning.

The mice were injected as part of an inoculation and vaccination experiment, investigators said.

UPDATE: The Seattle Time; 3 plague-infected lab mice missing

Officials said the animals could have been stolen from the center, one of the top-level bio-containment labs in New Jersey — or simply misplaced. The discovery occurred more than two weeks ago and was confirmed Wednesday after questions were raised by The Star-Ledger newspaper.

State Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs said mice infected with plague bacteria die “very fast,” so “the risk to the public … is probably slim to none.”

At least 24 employees and researchers at the lab have been interrogated by the FBI and, in some cases, have taken lie-detector tests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also is investigating. “Right now, we are as satisfied as we can be that there is no public-safety risk,” said Special Agent Steve Siegel, an FBI spokesman.

The security issue certainly would seem to be a concern as the authorities seem to think that this is a low level risk to the community; however, one wonders what else in this lab could go missing? They have no idea whether this was a conscious act by an individual or law of the jungle.

Infectious-disease experts agreed that if the mice escaped from the lab, the public-health risk was likely minimal. However, they said the episode raised serious issues of security and control at the lab.

Perlin said investigators and scientists think the missing mice may have been eaten by the others in the cages.