ATLANTA (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency has dramatically revamped how it cares for lab animals after an inspection found problems that led to the deaths of six monkeys, agency officials said last week.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has spent $3 million on animal care improvements since last year, when independent reviewers threatened to revoke their approval for the way the CDC treats lab animals.
The CDC has volunteered to submit to inspections since 1967 by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Care International, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation programs.
The reviews are not legally required, but the accreditation helps attract top-level scientists, CDC officials said.
In an inspection last year, the group found a range of problems with the way the CDC handles lab animals that prompted it to consider revoking the CDC’s accreditation.
The CDC’s director, Dr. Julie Gerberding, said she was appalled when she learned about the problems last year, and vowed to make dramatic reforms.
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