Fire in CDC Lab Overnight; No Loss of Containment

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Photo Credit: Brett Weinstein/Wikimedia

Fire investigators are leaning towards a malfunctioning piece of lab equipment as the cause of a fire overnight Wednesday at a CDC lab which houses the rubella virus.

According to WSB-TV, the fire broke out in Building 18 of the CDC campus around midnight Wednesday. The building’s fire suppression systems automatically activated and local firefighters and CDC authorities responded immediately.

Officials with the CDC told WSB-TV that no rubella pathogens escaped containment during the blaze.

Rubella can cause miscarriages if a mother is infected by the virus during her pregnancy, but for the most part the pathogen causes nothing more than mild illness.

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