LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After we first told you about a raid at a home in east Las Vegas, conducted by local and federal authorities, questions have been swirling.
Even as new details emerged regarding the biological materials discovered and the number of samples recovered, locals have continued to echo similar questions.
What was found? Could it be drug manufacturing? What even is a bio lab?
To find those answers, we turned to an expert.
WATCH | Meet Brian Labus, associate professor and infectious disease expert at UNLV:
"That's the thing everybody wants to know," Labus said. "Why does this lab exist in a neighborhood in Las Vegas?"
He said there are different kinds of bio labs.
You could be "doing research, looking into organisms, plants, animals," he said, adding, "if it's more of a medical lab, you may be trying to test for certain diseases or develop tests for those diseases."
"You have to wonder what they're doing and why. We don't really have any details, and that makes it even scarier," Labus said.
WATCH | Here's the latest information released by authorities:
At the same time, he said he doesn't want panic to spread about health risks.
"Even if they turn out to be some dangerous pathogens, it doesn't mean that there's a risk."
He added that because the samples were kept in a garage, it's not how disease spreads.
Labus added that testing takes time. It could be weeks or even months before we learn the results of the FBI testing on the samples collected in the suspected illegal bio lab.
CONTINUING COVERAGE
