Accidental Anthrax Shipment Spurs Debate Over Safety.

A mistake that may have exposed several lab workers in Oakland, California, to live anthrax is inflaming an already heated debate over the safety of the nation's rapidly burgeoning biodefense program. The problem, announced last week, began several months ago when a Frederick, Maryland, lab supplier shipped an anthrax sample that it thought had been heat-killed but that actually contained live bacteria. Luckily, says Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute director Bert Lubin, the live anthrax came in a relatively benign form, no one has yet shown signs of infection, and the incident was dealt with swiftly.