Home / Biology Department / Chemical Inventory and Safety / Biosafety Plan Table of Contents / Table A

Table A

Table A: Organisms of Concern that CSB/SJU staff might reasonably encounter

Bacterial agents | Fungal Agents | Protozoans| Prion Diseases |Viral Agents |Cell Lines

Bacterial Agents Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible Exposure Conditions
Campylobacter



Pathogenic campylobacters can occur in fecal specimens in large numbers. Birds and other animals are known reservoirs. Biosafety Level II or Animal Biosafety Level II Contact with bird feces
Chlamydia psittaci Present in tissues, feces, nasal secretions and blood of infected birds. Significant exposure to infectious aerosols can occur during handling, care or necropsy of naturally infected birds. Infected mice and eggs are less important sources Biosafety Level II or Animal Biosafety Level II Gloves are recommended for necropsy of birds, and mice. Wild or caged birds
Mice
Escherichia coli (cytotoxin producing) Enterohemorrahgic strains Domestic farm animals especially bovines are significant reservoirs. May be found in uncooked ground beef and unpasteurized dairy products. Biosafety Level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities. No current vaccine Independent student research projects using uncooked hamburger; field work near farm animals
Untreated sewage
Leptospira interrogans—all serovars Direct or indirect contact with fluids and tissues of naturally infected mammals during handling, care or necropsy. Animal Biosafety level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities. No current vaccine Laboratory or wild animals
Listeria monocytogenes Isolated in soil, dust, human food, animals and asymptomatic humans. Most cases have arisen from eating contaminated food, soft cheeses, raw meat and unwashed vegetables Biosafety Level 2 practices, containment and facility, No vaccine available. Pregnant women should be fully informed of the potential hazards including risks to developing fetus. Contaminated soil; laboratory culture; sheep
Salmonella(all serotypes except typhii) Primary reservoir hosts include birds, mammals and reptiles. Biosafety level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities
Animal Biosafety level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities No current vaccine		 Laboratory cultures; work with domesticated or wild animals
Borrelia burgdorferi
(Lyme’s disease)		 Deer ticks carry this bacteria Check self for ticks upon return from field. Preserve embedded ticks by freezing, include date, location and name of victim. Complete an incident form and consult a physician if the tick is known to be a deer tick. Field work
Exposure to wild-trapped mice or deer
Rickettsia rickettsiae Naturally infected mammals, ticks, lice and infected tissue. Biosafety level 2
Antibiotic therapy is effective in early stages of disease. Febrile illness, especially those associated with headache and malaise, should be reported in a timely fashion

 

 Exposure to mammalian ticks and lice during field work.


Fungal Agents

 Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible Exposure Conditions
Histoplasma capsulatum Soil from endemic areas. SJU is at the edge of the endemic area Biosafety level 2 Soil samples
Miscellaneous molds Agents include Penicillium marneffei, Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis, Fonsecaea pedrosoi, Ochroconis gallopavum, Claduphialopora bantians, and Ramichlorisium mackenzieim. Inhalation from sporulating mold cultures are a possible risk. Biosafety level 2 practices and facilities Sporulating mold cultures .
Sporulating environmental molds.
Protozoans Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible Exposure Conditions
Intestinal Protozoal Parasites of Humans Toxoplasma spp. Entamoeba spp, Isospora spp, Giardia spp. Sarcocystis sp and Cryptosporidium spp. Direct contact with feces of naturally infected animals. Aerosol or droplet exposures of mucous membranes. Immunocompromised individuals should avoid working with live organisms. Biosafety level 2 practices Infected animals such as wild beavers which can carry Giardia, or deer which can carry Toxoplasmosis Untreated water.
Cestode Parasites of Humans Echinococcus granulous, Taenia solium and Hymenolepis nana H. nana is directly transmissible by ingestion of feces of infected rodents Biosafety level 2 practices; hand-washing, wear gloves when there might be direct contact with feces of humans, rodents or canine Rodent feces
Prion Diseases Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible Exposure Conditions
Prions Bovine spongiform encephalopathy risk of infections is unclear. Formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues can be infectious for other prion diseases. Hazards are unclear; prudence might dictate Biosafety level 2 when dissections of cattle, sheep, goats, cats, mule deer and elk brains, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes or lungs are done. No known effective treatments for prion disease currently available. Avoid puncture of skin. Wear gloves and goggles If contamination of skin occurs, swab with 1 N NaOH for 5 minutes and then wash with copious amounts of water. Dissection of cattle, sheep, goats, cats, mule deer and elk brains, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes or lungs.
Viral Agents Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible Exposure Conditions
Hantavirus Rats, voles and other laboratory rodents, aerosol infections especially from infected rodent urine; feces; animal bites

Animal Biosafety Level II

 Exposure to wild infected rodents or their urine or feces in endemic areas (e.g. SW USA)
Hepatitis B, C, and D Hepatitis B can be present in Human blood, urine, semen, CSF, and saliva: stable in dried blood several days.
Hepatitis C is found primarily in blood, less frequently in saliva, and rarely in urine. Relatively unstable to storage at room temperature and repeated freezing and thawing
Hepatitis B is defective and requires the presence of hepatitis B for replication		 Follow HCSB/SJU BBP plan (Biosafety level 2)
Vaccine available for Hepatitis B but not Hepatitis C and D		 Laboratory work with human blood, urine
Accidental exposure to human blood
Hepatitis A and E Fecal-oral contamination BSL-2 precautions. Research using untreated sewage
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Can be present in blood, CSF, urine and secretions of laboratory rodents, especially, mice, hamsters and guinea pigs. Virus might pose a special risk during pregnancy for fetus. Animal Biosafety Level 2 Wild-trapped rodents
Rabies virus Can be present in all tissues of infected animals; highest titers are present in CNS tissue, salivary glands and saliva. Animal Biosafety level 2 Infected wild animals
Retroviruses including HIV HIV has been isolated from blood, semen, saliva, tears, urine, CSF, amniotic fluid, breast milk, cervical secretions and tissue of infected persons.
Routes of exposure include contact with broken or damaged skin or mucous membranes.		 Follow CSB/SJU BBP
(Biosafety level 2 for all human blood contaminated material)		 Laboratory work with human blood or body fluids.
Accidental exposure to human blood
Cell Lines Laboratory Hazards Precautions Possible exposure conditions
Vero cells Contamination from supplier or user BSL1 Use of a laminar flow hood to prevent contamination of cultures Cell culture