Audit Finds Research Labs Slow To Improve Security

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional investigators say the government has been slow to upgrade security at U.S. laboratories that handle deadly germs nearly a year after the discovery of weak security controls at such facilities.

A report says two of the labs found to have lax security have made some progress despite “limited action” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work out a more detailed plan.

The report from the Government Accountability Office is set for release later this week. It was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The report calls on the CDC to establish uniform perimeter security for all five of the nation’s labs that handle organisms that cause diseases without a cure - such as the Ebola virus and smallpox.