More news on "Legionellagate" ...

... and the sheer stupidity brought about by Mona Melhem's decision to destroy 4,000+ isolates of Legionella collected over the span of the last quarter century. Oh and yes, I just coined that new phrase: Legionellagate. You heard it here first!

News article here. It appears that the members of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight suggested that Drs. Yu and Stoat seek legal counsel for the actions taken against them.

Mr. Miller, D-N.C., also was highly critical of VA officials' decisions during yesterday's hearing of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight in Washington, even suggesting that Drs. Victor Yu and Janet Stout, two researchers who had collected the samples for years, seek legal counsel.

"It occurs to me that you have been wronged," he said.

It also appears that they are unconvinced, as they should be, of the legitimacy of the actions taken by Mona Melhem in destroying all those samples.

Mr. Miller said a probe by the committee staff revealed "no credible reason for the destruction of the collection."

And I'm not the only one who thinks the field of Legionella research took a serious blow to the head with the destruction of all those samples.

Dr. David Snydman, a professor of medicine and pathology at the Tufts University School of Medicine, testified the collection was invaluable to science and called its destruction "a wanton, thoughtless act."

I'd call it criminal. C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L. Criminal.

I'm also confused as to why the blogosphere, especially all the microbiology bloggers, haven't spoke on this topic at all. Hey, I got the scoop!