The Pentagon on Thursday announced that several military laboratories in the United States are currently under investigation after deadly diseases such as the bubonic plague were alleged shipped out from them.

CNN reported that the laboratories were already under investigation because of an earlier allegation that they had sent live anthrax samples to the wrong persons or organizations.

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Peter Cook, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the Department of Defense is yet to determine if the alleged shipment contains live samples of the bubonic plague or if they indeed came from military laboratories.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given its assessment that no one was at risk when the samples were shipped and received, according to Cook.

Three weeks ago, government inspectors at the Maryland based Edgewood Chemical Biological Center discovered a bubonic plague sample outside its restricted area.

The military insisted that the bubonic sample cannot infect anyone, but the inspectors are still verifying the claim.

There are also allegations that some equine encephalitis samples may have been mislabeled.

In early 2015, Army laboratories came under scrutiny after more than 80 American civilian laboratories and seven countries received live anthrax from them within the span of a few years.

A congressional review quickly followed after a Utah military research facility became contaminated with anthrax. Some of the facilities could not completely account for their stockpile of deadly viruses.

One particularly worrisome strain is the Yersinia Pestis, which is similar to the black death strain that killed more than half of the people in medieval Europe several hundred years ago.

Although the black death bacteria still remains today, most of its victims could be treated if they get medical help during the early onset of the disease. The United States experiences a number of bubonic plague cases annually. The suspected carriers of the dreaded disease are rats and fleas.

Another deadly disease that may have been actually transported outside the Pentagon operated laboratories are the encephalitis viruses. Normally, the disease is carried by mosquitoes who then infect people with it. The disease is not prevalent in the United States. Encephalitis can result in brain damage and even death.

Tagsbubonic plague, encephalitis, Anthrax, mislabeled anthrax, mishandled anthrax, military laboratories, department of defense, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, anthrax contamination