Some NEIDL clarification
By Brandon Simes (From South End News), December 24, 2008
I want to thank you for the excellent and balanced article by Mr. Simes that clearly describes the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (the “NEIDL”) and the systems in place to safely contain the pathogens that will be studied in the facility. As Boston University is committed to providing the public with accurate information regarding the proposed laboratory operations, I would like to correct two issues that were raised in the article regarding tularemia and select agents. First, select agents are not limited to agents studied at BSL-4. Tularemia, a select agent, is a bacterium that is studied at BSL-3, not BSL-4 as noted in the article. Second, while tularemia cannot be spread person-to-person, other infections caused by select agents may be. The ease of transmission varies from pathogen to pathogen but, in fact, most BSL-4 viruses (all agents currently classified as BSL-4 are viruses) are not easily transmissible.
Thank you for the opportunity to correct this information.
Ronald B. Corley, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Microbiology, Associate Director, NEIDL, Boston University School of Medicine