‘Tip of the Iceberg’: At Least 309 Infections and 16 Escaped Pathogens Linked to Lab Accidents

Between 2000 and 2021, at least 16 pathogens reportedly escaped from research laboratories, according to a new study published in The Lancet Microbe. The study authors said their findings may “only represent the tip of the iceberg,” due to a lack of standard reporting requirements.

Between 2000 and 2021 at least 16 pathogens reportedly escaped from research laboratories, according to a new study published in The Lancet Microbe — but the study authors said their findings may “only represent the tip of the iceberg” in terms of numbers due to a lack of standard reporting requirements.

A team of researchers surveyed peer-reviewed articles and online reports in English, Chinese and German, looking for all indications that a pathogen accidentally “escaped” from a lab or that an infection was determined to be “laboratory-acquired” during the study period.

In addition to the 16 episodes of pathogenic “escape,” the researchers found 309 instances of lab-acquired infections caused by 51 different pathogens.

Seventy-seven percent of those infections were caused by bacterial pathogens, 13.9% were caused by viruses, 7.1% by parasites, 1.6% by fungi and less than 1% by a prion agent.

Eight of the cases were fatal, and six of those deaths were caused by bacteria, such as Yersinia pestis, which causes plague, or Neisseria meningitidis. One death was caused by Ebola virus.

The vast majority of infections occurred as an outcome of “procedural errors,” breaches of biosafety or risk mitigation procedures, which included using the wrong personal protective equipment, having inadequate training or mishandling samples.