Military Mistakenly Ships Live Anthrax Samples

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it is investigating what the Pentagon called an inadvertent shipment of live anthrax spores to at least one, and perhaps as many as nine, laboratories that expected to receive dead spores. CDC spokeswoman Kathy Harben said, "At this time we do not suspect any risk to the general public." A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, said the suspected live anthrax samples were shipped from Dugway Proving Ground, an Army facility in Utah, using a commercial delivery service. Warren said the government has confirmed one recipient, a laboratory in Maryland, received live spores. It is suspected, but not yet confirmed, that anthrax sent to labs in as many as eight other states also contained live spores.