WTF?!? Probable Darwin Award winner: Scientist accidentally injects Ebola into finger

[Dennis Olson]

Scientist accidentally injects Ebola into finger

45-year-old woman given experimental vaccine for deadly virus
The Associated Press
updated 1:01 p.m. CT, Fri., March. 27, 2009

BERLIN - It's a nightmare scenario worthy of a sci-fi movie script: A scientist accidentally pricks her finger with a needle used to inject the deadly Ebola virus into lab mice.

But in this case, it really happened — to an unidentified 45-year-old woman in Germany.

Within hours of the accident on March 12, several of the scientist's colleagues held a trans-Atlantic telephone conference to map out a way to save her life.

Within 24 hours, an experimental vaccine — never before tried on humans — was on its way to Germany from a lab in Canada.

Within 40 hours, the at-risk scientist was injected with the vaccine.

So far, so good. If the woman is still healthy on April 2, she can consider herself safe.

It's not a 100-percent certainty the researcher was actually infected with Ebola.

If she doesn't become infected, scientists may not know if it was the vaccine, or luck.


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29914303/

 

[BoatGuy]

And, I thought I was being silly when I accidentally cut off the end of my finger in a table saw. I can honestly say that I have never shot up with Ebola... and never will. Hope the vaccine turns out to be good though.

 

[Amaryllis]

One idiot inflicts an incurable disease upon herself, and it takes 24 hours to find the cure. That right there answers a lot of questions.

 

[BigBadBossyDog]

Some things just plain make you giggle yourself silly. When I read the title of this thread, I choked up, and without even opening the thread.

 

[dissimulo]

The more amazing thing is that this is at least the second time somebody has done this. Another scientist accidentally jabbed herself with Ebola about fifteen years ago. Luckily, she did not develop the illness.