House searched after Dudley hospital A&E's 'antique bacteria' scare
Police have searched a house in Hertfordshire after "antique bacteria" was taken into Russells Hall Hospital, forcing the temporary closure of its A&E department.
A possible hazardous item was traced back to an address in Hertfordshire where police, with the cooperation of the owner, seized a number of items.
The Dudley hospital's A&E department was forced to close for around an hour on Thursday due to the incident.
A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said: "Enquiries were made by officers at an address in Hertfordshire following a report that a possible hazardous item was traced back to that location.
"Officers entered the property with the cooperation of the owner and a number of items were seized as a safety precaution.
"There are not currently believed to be any criminal matters to investigate, and at no stage during the operation was there believed to be any risk to the wider public."
A woman at the scene reported that some believed the substance could be anthrax, while others said it was just a hoax.
The UK Health Security Agency were called to Russells Hall Hospital to check whether the substance was real or not.
West Midlands consultant in health protection, Caryn Cox said: "UKHSA was made aware of an item which was understood to contain an unconfirmed antique sample of bacteria, in a sealed slide.
"Based on the information given, we risk assessed the situation and determined it was not an immediate risk to the public or hospital staff and advised the hospital of a safe and appropriate method of disposal."
West Midlands Ambulance Service deployed two paramedic officers to the scene after being alerted of the temporary closure.
Five patients had to be diverted to nearby hospitals.
