The US authorities are investigating the circumstances of the sudden death of a 25-year-old microbiologist, who died in less than a day from an illness possibly caused by a bacterium he studied in his laboratory; the laboratory itself is closed during the investigation, its employees are under the supervision of doctors.
A laboratory researcher at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Administration Medical Center, 25-year-old Richard Din died on April 28 from meningococcal infection. On the evening before his death, he felt a headache and nausea, the next morning his condition worsened, his friends took Dean to the hospital, where he died - just 17 hours after the first symptoms appeared.
The head of the infectious diseases department of the medical center, Harry Lampiris, said Dean was researching Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium that causes about a thousand cases of meningitis in the United States every year and kills about 75 people. Taking antibiotics immediately at the first symptoms can save you from infection.
A vaccine for several strains of this bacterium was created back in the 1960s, but there is no vaccine for the strain B bacteria that Dean worked with. Developing such a vaccine was the ultimate goal of Dean's research, Lampiris says.
According to him, the tests confirmed the presence of meningococcus serotype B in the scientist's blood. In addition, the medical center sent blood samples to a laboratory at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to conduct genetic analysis of the bacteria and make sure that it was a laboratory infection that caused Dean's death.
Laboratory staff wonder how Dean could have been infected.
“We conducted an internal investigation and found no traces of bacterial contamination, equipment malfunctions or problems with protective suits in the laboratory,” Lampiris said, noting that the laboratory has been working with meningococcal bacteria for more than 20 years.
Dean started working here six months ago. “His colleagues say that he worked very carefully and followed all the precautions. He did not tell them about any incidents,”Lampiris said.
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N. meningitidis bacteria are classified as Biohazard Level 2, which means that any handling of these microorganisms must be carried out in protective, sealed suits and purified air.
Leonard Mayer, head of the meningitis laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, notes that all employees of such laboratories should be vaccinated against meningitis, although this does not save against type B strains.
"There is a lot of debate now about raising the biohazard level of strain B to level 3," says Mayer.
Lampiris said Dean's lab will remain closed pending an investigation by the state of California and federal agencies. Dean's colleagues and acquaintances are under medical supervision and take antibiotics for prophylactic purposes.
“All the staff at our center feel overwhelmed and devastated,” Lampiris says.