The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that is carrying out an investigation on four Defense Department labs for possible mishandling of deadly germs used in bioterrorism research. The mishandling involves anthrax, plague and viruses that can cause encephalitis.

The military studies germs, like anthrax, plague and viruses, so that it can learn how to defend against their potential use as biological weapons. For now, there is no evidence that anyone has suffered due to the mishandling of the germs.

But the bioterrorism experts have affirmed that they believe in zero tolerance, as these organisms are quite dangerous. Even a small mistake can prove taxing. Owing to the CDC findings, the secretary of the Army asked the four labs to stop their work they were doing with certain dangerous microbes known as 'select agents'.

The four labs are the Dugway Proving Ground Life Sciences Test Facility in Utah, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, he Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center and the Naval Medical Research Center. The last three labs are in Maryland.

It all started in May when it was found that the Dugway lab had mistakenly shipped live anthrax to many labs in American and other nations during the past decade. This led the CDC to carry out spot checks at other Defense Department labs.

During the investigations, inspectors found labeling issues. CDC is also investigating transfers to ensure that there was no risk to those who handled the material or to the public.