An accidental tuberculosis tube spill prompted a mass evacuation at two buildings on the campus of a prestigious Baltimore hospital, according to new reports.
A frozen sample of the extremely contagious bacterial disease was dropped in a bridge between the cancer research buildings at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Thursday afternoon, local station WBAL reported.
“There was a small tube that contained a frozen sample, and it was dropped and the lid came off while the sample was still frozen inside,” Dr. Landon King, executive vice dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told the outlet.
The amount released was equivalent to only a few drops, and no one was hurt, according to King.
“In fact, we have determined that there is actually no risk, zero risk to anybody involved,” King told the outlet. “So there is no preventive measure or testing required for anyone in the buildings as a result of this event.”
There were employees in the area when the incident occurred, but hospital officials told the Baltimore Sun that no one required treatment.
Because the buildings were used for research, no patients were in either building, according to the report.
Still, the fire department speculated that the sample could spread through the heating and cooling system, so they immediately shut it down, King told the paper.
The two buildings remained off limits for several hours, and were reopened after public safety officials and infectious disease experts gave the all-clear, according to the report.
Dajuan Robinson, a histotechnician who works at a Hopkins building across the street from the cancer research center, told the Sun he received a text alert about the situation.
“When I saw the text, I knew it was something serious,” Robinson told the paper. “They just let us know it was a hazmat situation and kept us updated.”
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that usually affects the lungs, but it can also impact the brain, kidneys or spine, according to the US National Library of Medicine. It can be fatal if it goes untreated.