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Family seeks answers in UofC scientist's death

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 | 1:23 PM
  By Kevin Roy

September 21, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A University of Chicago researcher died after being exposed to a strain of bacteria that causes plague. And Malcolm Casadaban's family wants answers.

The Chicago Department of Public Health says there's no sign anyone else was exposed to the bacteria.
VIDEO: Family wants answers

The tragic irony is that Professor Casadaban had been trying to develop a vaccine so that thousands of people around the world wouldn't die a painful, ugly death from a bacterial infection related to the plague. But it was that bacterium that appears to have killed him.

"We really thought he was so strong, we didn't see this coming at all," said Leigh Casadaban, daughter.

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Not only did they not see it coming, but sisters Leigh and Brooke Casadaban say their father never knew what killed him.

"It was just so much of a shock, even the time he was in the ER, from the moment he got accepted to the time he passed away. We had no idea, we didn't even get to say goodbye to him," said Brooke Casadaban.

Malcom Casadaban was a professor of molecular genetics at the University of Chicago for 30 years.

For the past eight years, his daughters say, he'd been working with a strain of bacteria called yersinia pestis, trying to develop a stronger vaccine for the plague, once the world's worst health scourge.

The weakened strain he was using, however, isn't supposed to make healthy people sick.

And that is the big mystery now for investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and the state and city public health departments who've been looking for clues at the U. of C. labs.

"Was it a change in the organism, something about the person infected that made him uniquely susceptible? We don't really know the answers yet," said John Easton, University of Chicago Medical Center.

"It was hurtful because we remember our father as very healthy. He rode his bike to work, never smoked, never drank," said Brooke Casadaban.

Brooke and Leigh Casadaban say they're not satisfied with the answers they've been given so far.

How did their father, who had flu-like symptoms, enter the hospital a week ago Sunday morning and die 12 hours later with no one suspecting that it could be related to the plague?

Leigh, who is following in her father's footsteps, now attends her father's alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says it may be up to her to solve this.

"I plan to go to the lab to read his papers and notes and go and really understand what he was trying to do," said Leigh Casadaban.

Leigh and Brooke say they've been told that their father is the first person in the Chicago area to die from this bacterium, an infection that is usually cured with antibiotics. They say they're not eager to file a lawsuit. But they are wondering now if someone at the hospital or the university should have been able to spot this before it was too late.

(Copyright ©2009 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
24 comments
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1
 9/22/09 7:51 AM EDT
My prayers go out to the family. What a heartbreaking story. Mark As Violation
 
2
 9/22/09 11:30 AM EDT
I know at a time like this people want answers and a place to put blame, but wondering why the hospital didn't check or consider the plague might be because the plague is very uncommon and hardly checked for because of its rarity. the article say he only had 12 hr at the hospital and that isn't enough time to get test results back and then see if the prescribed treatment is working. Mark As Violation
 
3
 9/22/09 1:16 PM EDT
it's like that sinclair lewis novel Mark As Violation
 
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4
 9/22/09 1:40 PM EDT
The bubonic plague noted for its black ulcers killed millions, A weakned strain ...did it change its MOA? Was your father truly healthy? Howlong was he infected? Doxycyline is noted to treat it but it is specific, A vague flu patient would not receive this. DID he have any ulcers or lesions? More importantly who else touched him and has it spread? Has the hospital contained the infection?  Mark As Violation
 
5
 9/22/09 1:46 PM EDT
What about the health care workers in the ER, in the lab(s), on the nursing units: are they being tested for exposure? Might they now be carriers or contagious to others, both those who are already hospitalized and immunocompromised and those who are friends, family members, coworkers, etc.? Mark As Violation
 
8
 9/22/09 2:22 PM EDT
Not suspecting that his flu-like symptoms were probably due to Yersinia pestis (i.e., the microbe he worked with) might not be necessarily criminal, by it certainly raises the following question: “Does the admitting physician at least occasionally use other parts of his/her brain apart from the medulla oblongata?” Mark As Violation
 
9
 9/22/09 2:23 PM EDT
No mention of the degree of exposure of the ER personnel, if they are being monitored or tested. You can't mention "death due to plague" and then conveniently ignore other details - the absence of which could start a panic. Talk about irresponsible reporting by ABC News! :( Mark As Violation
 
10
 9/22/09 2:36 PM EDT
I apologize to anyone, who read my comment twice. I typed it, then replaced two originally typed commas with parentheses and clicked once on “POST” and the two comment versions appeared under the article. I apologize for any inconvenience. Mark As Violation
 
11
 9/22/09 2:42 PM EDT
Okay, there's never, ever been a reported case of plague in the history of Chicago and someone shows up in the ER with flu like symptoms and doctors who have never seen a case of plague in their lives are supposed to suspect plague??? Why don't we just test everyone with a rash for leprosy? You've got to be kidding me. Mark As Violation
 
12
 9/22/09 2:59 PM EDT
Why didn't the Professoror or his family, if they didn't, tell the ER personnel that he worked with and was working with the plague bacterium. Mark As Violation
 
13
 9/22/09 3:00 PM EDT
The one question I don't see anyone asking is this: Did he tell anyone at the hospital what he did for a living and, specifically, what strains of bacteria he worked with??? If not, there's no way anyone should have been expected to think he had the plague. Mark As Violation
 
14
 9/22/09 3:02 PM EDT
The one question I don't see anyone asking is this: Did he or his family tell anyone at the hospital what he did for a living and/or what strains of bacteria he worked with? Mark As Violation
 
15
 9/22/09 3:02 PM EDT
since it takes far longer than 12 hours to culture bacteria, the MIT student should know the hospital couldn't have identified the causative agent before it killed their dad. Why it was so virulent to him could takes weeks or months to determine. Mark As Violation
 
16
 9/22/09 3:03 PM EDT
He was a very cool guy. Boarder line genius. I enjoyed knowing and working with him. And for all of you doing lacZ expression, your MC1000 E.coli strain was created by Malcom decades ago. And he as contributed more to basic research than I think very few truly understand.  Mark As Violation
 
17
 9/22/09 3:04 PM EDT
Since it takes longer than 12 hours to culture bacteria, the MIT student should know the hospital couldn't have known a bacteria was at fault. Even after the death, it could takes weeks or months to determine why it was so virulent to their dad. Mark As Violation
 
18
 9/22/09 3:04 PM EDT
this man worked with the plague for years - why wasn't HE the first one to suspect that this was the cause of his illness. Why didn't he tell the doctors that he was working with this bacteria when he was admitted to the hospital so they could screen for this? Mark As Violation
 
20
 9/22/09 3:08 PM EDT
As a note to everyone saying that the doctors had no reason to suspect plague, this isn't necessarily true. As a researcher, for a university or a private company, you are required to submit an occupational health ... Mark As Violation
 
21
 9/22/09 3:09 PM EDT
We can only wait until the investigation is finished. There are too many unanswered questions. Mark As Violation
 
22
 9/22/09 3:10 PM EDT
Its unfortunate that the doctor treating this great man wasn't astute enough to ask the simple questions of "where do you work" and "what do you do for a living," seemingly simple words that would've opened up a door of information.  Mark As Violation
 
23
 9/22/09 3:20 PM EDT
So sad for the family. Researchers and first reponders should carry a card stating all of the non-standard pathogens that he/she may have been exposed to--just to get the health professionals thinking about it. Sadly, the best place for this card is rubber-banded between the health care id and the credit card--it will be found Mark As Violation
 
24
 9/22/09 3:23 PM EDT
Unfortunately either the professor missed a protocal or may have even tested something intentionally on himself. As for the ER doctors, with H1N1 and another 100+ everyday illnesses that exhibit flu-like symptoms, they couldn't have known. Mark As Violation
 
25
 9/22/09 3:34 PM EDT
Plague is transmitted by fleas, so doubt anyone in ER was exposed. Plague is endemic in New Mexico/Arizona, but it would be a billion-to-one diagnosis in Chicago. Plague is caused by one bacteria, but the 3 types of plague have different symptoms depending upon the infection route. Pneumonic plague has flu-like symptoms (headache, fever, weakness), so with H1N1 around, who would think of plague? Several antibiotics are effective, if given in time. Patient should have told MD about his work. Mark As Violation
 
26
 9/22/09 4:28 PM EDT
I am very sorry this happened. Laboratory Safty practices have many SOPs that must be followed to the letter, but when you get tired....I believe things point to this. All his notes must be considered contaminated and handled as such AND don't bring anything home. Have a professional train you in lab safety and hazard contamination. I am a Med Lab Tech, ASCP. I hope for the best in times like these.  Mark As Violation
 
27
 9/22/09 5:03 PM EDT
Pneumonic marmot plague was weaponized by Russia, and probably by the USA. The idea is to have an infected person coughing up highly infectious blood, yet strong enough to walk the streets for awhile before he dies. I wonder if this scientist is a Russian immigrant, formerly involved in biowarfare research there? Pneumonic plague can be very deadly, and antibiotics may not save a person. Many microbiologists have died mysteriously in the past few years! They sure didn't all die from their own lab mistakes. Mark As Violation
 
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