FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — What started as a plumbing leak at the Kentucky State Police Central Laboratory in Frankfort ended up causing a safety concern for more than a dozen employees.
On Friday April 19, a drainpipe in the building’s rabies necropsy laboratory leaked into the ceiling of the level below, according to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Fifteen employees who were in the vicinity of the rabies lab were notified that they might have been exposed to the rabies, according to the cabinet. Four of those employees worked in that specific area of the rabies necropsy lab.
The cabinet also noted that employees who work directly with rabies are vaccinated against it before they can do rabies testing for the Department of Public Health.
The rest of the exposed employees were “counseled, and informed that prophylactic vaccines are available and that KDPH will assist them as necessary,” according to the cabinet.
The rabies vaccination consists of multiple shots over the course of weeks, with the first shot starting on the day of exposure if possible, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The cabinet said that all 15 of the people in the affected areas were contacted on the Friday of the leak, but those who couldn’t be reached were informed the following Monday.
The risk of exposure for all of the people affected is very low, according to the cabinet.
In order to contract rabies through a non-bite exposure, the rabies must reach an open wound, abrasion or mucous membranes, according to the Centers of Disease Control.
The cabinet said that the plumbing issues have been resolved and the affected area has been cleaned.
