The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has referred to the FBI the case of the laboratory where one of five vials of a deadly Venezuelan virus went missing, an official from the CDC told ABCNews.com.
"CDC reported the incident to the FBI and we understand that the FBI will initiate an investigation concerning the reported incident," Dr. Rob Weyant, director of the CDC's Division of Select Agents and Toxins, told ABCNews.com in an email. "Since the investigation is just underway, the agency will not comment further regarding details of this incident."
The FBI would not confirm it was investigating the incident at theGalveston National Laboratory.
"The FBI does not confirm nor deny the existence of investigations" as a matter of policy, said Shauna A. Dunlap, a media coordinator for the FBI Houston Division.
A lab spokesman said he did not think the FBI was investigating, but rather that the FBI was monitoring the lab's ongoing investigation.
The CDC can make a referral to the FBI if it finds "possible violations involving criminal negligence or a suspicious activity or person to the FBI for further investigation," according to 2007 congressional testimony from Dr. Richard Besser, who directed the CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response at the time. He is now ABC News' chief health and medical editor... http://abcnews.go.com/Health/fbi-case-missing-guanarito-virus-texas-biolab/story?id=18817744#.UVLiuhxwe8A
