According to the Centers for Disease Control, a batch of vials labeled with “smallpox” were found in a freezer at a Merck facility in Upper Gwynedd Township and immediately quarantined, write Deanna Durante and Brian X. McCrone for NBC4 New York.

It is not clear why the vials were there.

Smallpox is a deadly disease that was eradicated in the 1970s after centuries of worldwide epidemics. The disease is so dangerous that only two laboratories in the world are allowed to keep doses: the main CDC lab in Atlanta and a facility in Russia.

The vials containing the deadly virus were “incidentally discovered” by a lab worker, said the CDC. Merck is currently in the process of finding out why they were there.

“The frozen vials labeled “Smallpox” were incidentally discovered by a laboratory worker while cleaning out a freezer in a facility that conducts vaccine research in Pennsylvania,” said a CDC spokeswoman. “CDC, its Administration partners, and law enforcement are investigating the matter and the vials’ contents appear intact.”

Most importantly, there “is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials,” she added.

Read more about the incident at NBC4 New York.

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