Officials discover illegal lab in California with bioengineered mice, infectious agents
Representative image.
Officials in California discovered a large-scale illegal lab in a warehouse that had bioengineered mice, infectious agents, nearly 30 refrigerators and freezers, incubators, and more. According to a report by KTLA 5 News, the investigation was prompted by a simple garden hose that was illegally attached and coming out of a wall in the back of the building.
Court documents filed at the Superior Court of the State of California said that the City of Reedley’s code enforcement team stumbled upon the lab last December, with a months-long investigation revealing that Prestige BioTech and Universal Meditech Inc. were holding vials of at least 20 infectious viruses, bacteria, and parasites – including Covid, E. Coli, and malaria.
Speaking to KSEE, Joe Prado, the Assistant Director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health said, "There was over 800 different chemicals on site in different bottles of different acids. Unfortunately, a lot of these are being categorised under unknown chemicals. “A lot of these labels have been removed from bottles so there was only so much testing. We could do those chemicals,” Prado added.
Nearly 1,000 lab mice discovered
Officials discovered nearly 1,000 lab mice at the illegal lab of which 200 were dead. Prado also told KSEE the occupants of the warehouse claimed they were “doing some testing on laboratory mice that would help them support, developing the Covid test kits that they had on-site.”
“I’ve never seen this in my 26-year career with the County of Fresno,” the official added.
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Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba, meanwhile, said “There are no more biologicals. There are no more mice, but they still will see us abating, 30 freezers and fridges, medical equipment, and all sorts of furniture in there. They’ll still see some activity, nothing hazardous at this point."
“This is an unusual situation. I’ve been in government for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Zeiba added.
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