The federal agency in charge of fighting Zika prioritized a test for diagnosing the virus that is less effective than another, and it demoted a whistleblower for raising concerns about the tests, according to an independent federal investigative agency.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel reported to the White House and Congress on Tuesday about its investigation into the whistleblower claims from Robert Lanciotti, a microbiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who leads the Diagnostics and Reference Laboratory.
Lanciotti raised concerns about the CDC’s recommendation for a Zika test that he says is “substantially less sensitive in detecting Zika than another established test,” the special counsel said.
Lanciotti says he was reassigned in May to a non-supervisory position within his lab in Fort Collins, Colo., after raising concerns about the effectiveness of the test. The Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, particularly whistleblowing, was able to reinstate Lanciotti as chief of the lab.
Lawmakers were dismayed at the whistleblower incident.
“It’s disappointing to see that the agency that’s supposed to be on the front lines of fighting Zika still finds time to investigate and sideline a top scientist in this area,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “Whistleblowers ought to be encouraged to come forward, especially with something as critical as a public health threat.”
The report comes as the agency has pressed for more federal funding to ramp up development of better diagnostic tools to screen for and quickly detect Zika. More than 100 cases of transmission through mosquito bites, the primary means of spreading the virus, have been identified in Florida.
Lanciotti says the CDC test, called Trioplex, is nearly 40 percent less effective in detecting active Zika virus than an alternative test called Singleplex, used by his Fort Collins lab.
The Office of Special Counsel referred Lanciotti’s concerns to the Department of Health and Human Services for investigation July 1. CDC’s own probe didn’t substantiate Lanciotti’s findings.
CDC said it couldn’t find any differences in the performance of the tests. It referred to a Puerto Rico study that found no difference in the sensitivity of the tests, according to the Office of Special Counsel.
Lanciotti also raised concerns that the CDC’s emergency operations center withheld information about the sensitivity differences between the tests from public health labs.
“The CDC found that this decision was reasonable given the inconclusive data,” the special counsel said. “Additionally, Dr. Lanciotti disclosed his belief that the CDC may have given public laboratories the mistaken impression that Trioplex was a better test, despite contradictory findings that the Trioplex has inferior sensitivity.”
The CDC disagreed, saying the data on the performance of the tests was inconclusive.
The counsel also reached a settlement with the CDC to restore Lanciotti as the chief of his lab.
Lanciotti raised concerns about the diagnostic test in April in an email. He was demoted to a non-supervisory position in May within his lab.
The microbiologist then filed a retaliation claim charging that his demotion was retaliation, the counsel said.
The counsel asked the CDC to review Lanciotti’s comments and respond to the concerns and ensure it is implementing the best testing method.
The CDC told the Washington Examiner that the Office of the Special Counsel found the findings of the agency’s own investigation to be reasonable.
“CDC remains committed to providing its public health partners with the best available science and tools to combat the Zika epidemic,” the agency said. “CDC continues to strengthen the Trioplex test, including a recent amendment to the test’s instructions to strengthen its performance. Still, we need simpler quicker tests. To date, HHS has obligated more than $20 million toward the development of diagnostic tests for Zika. This is a critical area of research for which additional funding from Congress is essential.”
A procedural vote on a short-term spending deal that included money to fight Zika failed in the Senate on Tuesday. Democrats voted against it in order to put in aid for the Flint, Mich., water crisis.
