Question: Have you ever caught a disease when working with bacteria

Alison Graham answered on 13 Jun 2012:

Not up until now! Fingers crossed it won’t happen! Research labs are divided into categories depending on how “contained” they are. You can only work with some really nasty strains of bacteria, like Bacillus anthracis (the bacterium that causes anthrax), in really really secure labs. There are not many of those in the country. Most labs (and the ones I have worked in) are Category 1 or 2 and the bugs that are handled there are either naturally harmless or have been altered to make them harmless to humans and the environment. In fact, there is probably more risk from the chemicals in the lab than the bugs!