CDC lab tech may have been exposed to Ebola

ATLANTA » A laboratory technician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was being monitored Wednesday for possible accidental exposure to the Ebola virus that came during an experiment, officials said Wednesday evening.

The person working in a secure laboratory in Atlanta may have come into contact with a small amount of a live virus, CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds says in an emailed statement. CDC officials said the experiment material was on a sealed plate, but wasn’t supposed to be moved into the lab the technician was working in.

There was no exposure outside the lab and scientists notified CDC officials of the potential problem on Tuesday, Reynolds said.

The possible exposure is under internal investigation and has been reported to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, Reynolds said. Additional employees have been notified, but none has required monitoring.

CDC Director Tom Frieden said he’s troubled by the report.

"I have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and that CDC take all necessary measures," he said in a statement.

In June, at least 52 workers at the CDC took antibiotics as a precaution because a lab safety problem was thought to have exposed them to anthrax.