Colorado State ups safety after plague scare

Last November, more than 20 students and staff at Colorado State University's new Diagnostic Medicine Center were exposed to plague that killed a mountain lion while performing and observing a necropsy on the animal. While no one contracted the plague, the university has modified their necropsy procedures to conduct any wildlife necropsies in bio-secure areas, in hopes of limiting the risk of exposure in the future.

The change will mean that students will miss out on some learning opportunities, the center's director Barb Powers told coloradoan.com, but it was a decision made out of an "abundance of caution."

Safety first is always a good rule, but it is certainly an unfortunate loss for the students. Are there any other ways the university could protect the students while still allowing them to learn from the necropsies performed?

--Jef Akst, Associate Editor, The Scientist

A tangential remark: your first sentence , ending with "...that killed a mountain lion while performing and observing a necropsy on the animal. ", reminded me of a sentence in a book review: “This book is based on lectures and clinical demonstrations of venereal diseases which the author has been giving to the undergraduates and post-graduate students for many years.” [quoted by ARIADNE, New Scientist 99 (7 July 1983): 76]