Infectious-materials lab near Fresno was a hidden danger. A bill would tighten laws | Opinion

Last year, a special House of Representatives committee looked into how a nondescript building in Reedley became a laboratory full of dangerous pathogens, operated by a man with ties to communist China and on the run from Canadian officials.

The committee’s report blamed failures of key federal agencies to properly respond to Reedley and Fresno County officials who asked how they should deal with the lab. The select committee also faulted gaps in current laws that allowed the biolab to operate nearly out of sight in the first place. If it had not been for the sharp eye and questioning mind of a Reedley code enforcement officer who discovered a hose curiously sticking out of a wall, the lab might still be working.

However, the man allegedly in charge of the lab — Jia Bei Zhu — was arrested in October in Reedley on federal charges of manufacturing and distributing illegal COVID-19 test kits and lying to federal investigators. He remains in custody in the Fresno County Jail.

The Bee Editorial Board in November encouraged federal legislators to toughen up the laws so such hazardous labs could not occur anywhere else. Now Fresno Democratic Rep. Jim Costa is aiming to do just that with a bill he has introduced.

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House Resolution 8065, the Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act, would require labs selling highly infectious agents — viruses, bacteria, parasites — to keep a log of sales that identify the buyers. Those records would have to be kept for five years.

Additionally, the act requires:

▪ A public health and biosecurity team would be formed to help state and local officials deal with any lab emergencies like the one in Reedley.

▪ A federal official would be designated to lead regular evaluations of labs that handle highly infectious materials.

▪ A feasibility study on creating a biolab database that state and local health officials could access when needed.

Costa’s bill is a good step, and if enacted, the information gathered could lead to further laws that would strengthen the nation’s protections against bioterrorism. As Costa noted, that goal can truly be bipartisan even in this era of divided government.

Mystery at Reedley lab

Joining Costa at the news conference held to announce the bill was Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba. She recalled the difficulty she and other city leaders had in dealing with federal health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control.

“It was an effort in futility for a small city like Reedley to call up to the state or call the CDC for assistance,” Zieba said. Making it worse was the lack of information. “They did not know what we had; we did not know what we had.”

The House committee blamed the CDC for not testing samples of substances found at the lab. Instead, the agency relied on labels on containers. Even then, the substances found in refrigerators and freezers were scary: chlamydia, streptococcus, hepatitis B and C, HIV, rubella, malaria and COVID-19.

Under Costa’s bill, the review of labs will examine their capacity and shortcomings. National standards for construction and maintenance of labs handling dangerous substances will be created.

“Illegal labs currently have a great leeway and little oversight in terms of their operations,” Costa said. “This really is a national security issue beyond being a public health and safety matter.”

Bipartisan backing needed

The operator of the Reedley lab only needed a business permit to open. The House panel’s investigation determined that Zhu had connections to companies linked to the Chinese government, “and is currently wanted in Canada for contempt of court, where he is the subject of a (Canadian dollar) $330 million judgment for stealing American intellectual property.”

Tightening up how labs operate when they handle infectious materials is necessary to protect the health and safety of those living around such businesses, as well as national security.

Valley Republican lawmakers — David Valadao of Hanford, John Duarte of Modesto and Tom McClintock of El Dorado Hills — should add their backing to Costa’s bill and give it the bipartisan support it will need. As Costa says, a Reedley situation must not occur ever again.