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Biosafety Levels

There are four biosafety levels (BLs) which consist of combinations of laboratory practices and techniques, safety equipment, and laboratory facilities. Each combination is specifically appropriate for the operations performed, the documented or suspected routes of transmission of the infectious agents, and for the laboratory function or activity. The recommended biosafety level for an organism represents the conditions under which the agent can be ordinarily handled safely.

• Biosafety Level 1 is appropriate for work done with defined and characterized strains of viable microorganisms not known to cause disease in healthy adult humans. It represents a basic level of containment that relies on standard microbiological practices with no special p rimary or secondary barriers recommended, other than a sink for handwashing.

• Biosafety Level 2 is applicable to work done with a broad spectrum of indigenous moderate-risk agents present in the community and associated with human disease of varying severity. Agents can be used safely on the open bench, provided the potential for producing splashes or aerosols is low. Primary hazards to personnel working with these agents relate to accidental percutaneous or mucous membrane exposures or ingestion of infectious materials. Procedures with high aerosol or splash potential must be conducted in primary containment equipment such as biosafety cabinets. Primary barriers such as splash shields, face protection, gowns and gloves should be used as appropriate. Secondary barriers such as handwashing and waste decontamination facilities must be available.

• Biosafety Level 3 is applicable to work done with indigenous or exotic agents with a potential for respiratory transmission and which may cause serious and potentially lethal infection. Primary hazards to personnel working with these agents (i.e., Mycobacterium tuberculosis, St. Louis encephalitis virus and Coxiella burnetii) include autoinoculation, ingestion and exposure to infectious aerosols. Greater emphasis is placed on primary and secondary barriers to protect personnel in adjoining areas, the community and the environment from exposure to infectious aerosols. For example, all laboratory manipulations should be performed in a biological safety cabinet or other enclosed equipment. Secondary barriers include controlled access to the laboratory and a specialized ventilation system that minimizes the release of infectious  erosols from the laboratory.

• Biosafety Level 4 is applicable for work with dangerous and exotic agents which pose a high individual risk of life-threatening disease, which may be transmitted via the aerosol route and for which there is no available vaccine or therapy. Agents with close or identical antigenic relationship to Biosafety Level 4 agents should also be handled at this level. Primary hazards to workers include respiratory exposure to infectious aerosols, mucous membrane exposure to infectious droplets and autoinoculation. All manipulations of potentially infected materials and isolates pose a high risk of exposure and infection to personnel, the community and the environment. Isolation of aerosolized infectious materials is accomplished primarily by working in a Class III biological safety cabinet or a full[1]body, air-supplied positive pressure personnel suit. The facility is generally a separate building or a completely isolated zone within a complex with specialized ventilation and waste management systems to prevent release of viable agents to the environment.