Biohazardous agents are infectious microorganisms, or their toxins, which cause or may cause human disease. Although the OSHA "Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories" (referred to as the "Laboratory Standard") does not apply to biological agents, the policy on this campus is to apply the same basic requirements - responsibilities, training, laboratory safety plan, reporting of accidents/exposures, etc. - to biological agents.
Over the past two decades, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) has become the code of practice for biosafety—the discipline addressing the safe handling and containment of infectious microorganisms and hazardous biological materials.
This document provides guidance on conducting a risk assessment, implementing a risk mitigation program, communicating during and after the assessment, and developing practices to support ongoing application of the risk assessment process to ensure safe laboratory operations.
A comprehensive biosafety risk assessment is a key component of a successful biosafety program and should be part of an all-hazards risk assessment; it should be conducted on a continual basis to address evolving risks within the laboratory environment.
The essential elements of the four biosafety levels for activities involving infectious microorganisms and laboratory animals are summarized in Table 1 of this chapter and discussed in Chapter 2. The levels are designated in ascending order, by degree of protection provided to personnel, the environment, and the community. Standard microbiological practices are common to all laboratories.
This guidance is provided for the use of experimentally infected animals housed in indoor research facilities (e.g., vivaria), and is also useful in the maintenance of laboratory animals that may naturally harbor zoonotic infectious agents. In both instances, the institutional management must provide facilities, staff, and established practices that reasonably ensure appropriate levels of environmental quality, safety, security and care for laboratory animal.
Since the publication of the 4th edition of BMBL manual in 1999, significant events have brought national and international scrutiny to the area of laboratory security. These events, including the anthrax attacks on U.S. citizens in October 2001 and the subsequent expansion of the United States Select Agent regulations in December 2003, have led scientific and institutional leaders to consider the need for improving the security of biological agents and toxins within their facilities.
This document explains the University's approach to providing occupational health support for biomedical research. An occupational health program that supports staff with access to biological hazards, such as infectious agents or toxins, should aim to alleviate the risk of adverse health consequences due to potential exposures to biohazards in the workplace. Health services should be risk-based and tailored to meet the needs of individual staff and the research institution.
Table of Contents for Agent Summary Statements.
Bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive, non-hemolytic, and non-motile bacillus, is the etiologic agent of anthrax, an acute bacterial disease of mammals, including humans. Like all members of the genus Bacillus, under adverse conditions B. anthracis has the ability to produce spores that allow the organism to persist for long periods until the return of more favorable conditions.
Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungal pathogen existing in nature and in laboratory cultures at room temperature as a filamentous mold with asexual spores (conidia) that are the infectious particles; these convert to large budding yeasts under the appropriate culture conditions in vitro at 37°C and in the parasitic phase in vivo in warm-blooded animals. The sexual stage is an Ascomycete with infectious ascospores.
Additional details about occupationally-acquired cases of parasitic infections, as well as recommendations for post exposure management, are provided elsewhere.1-3 Effective antimicrobial treatment is available for most parasitic infections.4 Immunocompromised persons should receive individualized counseling (specific to host and parasite factors) from their personal healthcare provider and their employer about the potential risks associated with working with live organisms.
Coxiella burnetii is the etiologic agent of Q fever. C. burnetii is a bacterial obligate intracellular pathogen that undergoes its developmental cycle within an acidic vacuolar compartment exhibiting many characteristics of a phagolysosome.
Hantaviruses are negative sense RNA viruses belonging to the genus Hantavirus within the family Bunyaviridae. The natural hosts of hantaviruses are rodent species and they occur worldwide. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a severe disease caused by hantaviruses such as Sin Nombre virus or Andes virus whose hosts are rodents in the sub familySigmodontinae.
In 1979, the American Committee on Arthropod-Borne Viruses (ACAV) Subcommittee on Arbovirus Laboratory Safety (SALS) first provided biosafety recommendations for each of the 424 viruses then registered in the International Catalogue of Arboviruses, including Certain Other Viruses of Vertebrates.
Seven immunologically distinct serotypes of Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) have been isolated (A, B, C1, D, E, F and G). Each BoNT holotoxin is a disulfide-bonded heterodimer composed of a zinc metallo-protease "light chain" (approximately 50 kD) and a receptor binding "heavy chain" (approximately 100 kD).
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases are neurodegenerative diseases which affect humans and a variety of domestic and wild animal species (Tables 1 and 2).1,2 A central biochemical feature of prion diseases is the conversion of normal prion protein (PrP) to an abnormal, misfolded, pathogenic isoform designated PrPSc (named for "scrapie," the prototypic prion disease).
Viral vectors have become a staple of the molecular biology community. As such, it is important to understand the origins of these tools and potential implications of their use. The most commonly used viral vectors are outlined below. Included is information on virology, laboratory hazards, biological safety containment procedures, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), disinfection, and animal use procedures.
This document presents information on the design, selection, function and use of BSCs, which are the primary means of containment developed for working safely with infectious microorganisms. Brief descriptions of the facility and engineering concepts for the conduct of microbiological research are also provided.
This chapter describes basic strategies for decontaminating surfaces, items, and areas in laboratories to eliminate the possibility of transmission of infectious agents to laboratory workers, the general public, and the environment. Factors necessary for environmentally mediated infection transmission are reviewed as well as methods for sterilization and disinfection and the levels of antimicrobial activity associated with liquid chemical germicides.
Biological materials require specific packaging, labeling, and documentation. Infectious materials (materials containing or expected to contain pathogens affecting humans) are regulated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Risk assessment and management guidelines for agriculture differ from human public health standards. Risk management for agriculture research is based on the potential economic impact of animal and plant morbidity, and mortality, and the trade implications of disease.
Risk assessments for arthropod research are multifaceted and focus on risks to individual researchers (harm, injury, disease) and impacts that a breach in containment may have on the community (increased/new vector reservoir, improved vector characteristics). Specific containment recommendations for arthropods deemed to be influential on public health can be found in the "Arthropod Containment Guidelines."
The CDC and USDA have designated certain biological agents and toxins as Select Agents, because they have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products. These materials require federal registration and approval to receive, posses, or transfer them.
This document describes the University's approach to pest management. Many pests, such as flies and cockroaches, can mechanically transmit disease pathogens and compromise the research environment. Even the presence of innocuous insects can contribute to the perception of unsanitary conditions.
Although risk of laboratory infection from working with cell cultures in general is low, risk increases when working with human and other primate cells, and primary cells from other mammalian species. There are reports of infection of laboratory workers handling primary rhesus monkey kidney cells, and the bloodborne pathogen risks from working with primary human cells, tissues and body fluids are widely recognized.
Biological toxins comprise a broad range of poisons, predominantly of natural origin but increasingly accessible by modern synthetic methods, which may cause death or severe incapacitation at relatively low exposure levels.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Science Policy (OSP) serves as primary advisor to the NIH Director regarding biomedical policy issues. In order to effectively promote safe and ethical practices within the research community, the OSP integrates reports from several specialized offices to develop comprehensive and pragmatic policies.
Resources for information, consultation, and advice on biohazard control, decontamination procedures, and other aspects of laboratory and animal safety management
List of Index A: Acronyms