DEFINITION * There are four circles within the symbol, signifying the chain of infection.

Biosafety describes the containment principles, technologies and practices
that are implemented to prevent the unintentional exposure to biological
agents and toxins or their accidental release.
WHAT IS BIOSAFETY?
* Agent: The type of microorganism, that causes infection or hazardous
condition.
* Host: The organism in which the microorganism Infect. The new host must
be susceptible.

Biosafety is defined as, “The discipline addressing the safe handling and * Source: The host from which the microorganism originates. The carrier host
containment of infectious microorganisms and hazardous biological might not show symptoms.
materials”. The practice of safe handling of pathogenic micro-organisms and
their toxins in the biological laboratory is accomplished through the
* Transmission: The means of transmission, mostly direct or indirect. Some
application of containment principles and the risk assessment.
routes of transmission include air, insect, direct contact and contaminated
surfaces.
BIOSECURITY
Classification
Describes protection, control and accountability for valuable biological
materials within laboratories, in order to prevent their loss, theft, misuse,
* Bio hazardous agents are classified for transportation by UN Number:
diversion of, unauthorized access or intentional release wether or not the
biorisk(s) is acceptable.
* Category A, UN 2814 — Infectious substance, affecting humans
A biohazard, also known as a biological hazard, is a biological substance that
poses a threat to human and animal health. * Category A, UN 2900 — Infectious substance, affecting animals (only)

Examples of biohazards include * Category B, UN 3373 -— Biological substance transported for diagnostic or
investigative purposes.
-Human or animal blood
* Regulated Medical Waste, UN 3291 — Waste or reusable material derived
from medical treatment of an animal or human, or from biomedical research,
-Human or animal waste and body fluids
which includes the production and testing.

-Deceased animals
Class I - Explosives

-Human remains
Class II – Gases

-Used drug needles

Class III - Flammable liquids

-Medical waste (used syringes and bandages)

Class IV - Flammable solids

-Rotting food
Class V - Oxidizing substances

All of these substances can harbor bacteria (like E. Coli) and viruses (like
Class VI - Toxic substance
Hepatitis and HIV) that can cause disease in humans and animals.

Class VII - Radioactive Dangerous goods

Biohazards may enter the body and cause damage if they are inhaled
through breathing, ingested through swallowing, or absorbed through breaks
in the skin. Class VIII - Corrosive

Symbol Class IX – Miscellaneous

Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, refer to biological substances 6.1: Toxic
that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that of humans.
6.2: Infectious

The biohazard symbol was developed in 1966 by Charles Baldwin, an

environmental-health engineer working for the Dow Chemical Company on Levels of biohazard Bacteria & Viruses
the containment products.

Biohazard Level 1: Bacteria and viruses including Bacillus subtilis, canine

It is used in the labeling of biological materials that carry a significant health
risk, including viral samples and used hypodermic needles. In Unicode, the
biohazard symbol is U+2623
SYMBOL
hepatitis, Escherichia coli, varicella (chicken pox), as well as some cell cultures
and non-infectious bacteria. At this level precautions against the io hazardous
materials in question are minimal, most likely involving gloves and some sort
of facia protection
Biohazard Level 2: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to
humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting Hepatitis A, B,
and C, some influenza A strains, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles,
scrapie, dengue fever, HIV.

Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at

Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2practices and procedures.

Biohazard Level 3:

* Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but
for which vaccines or other treatments exist

* Anthrax tuberculosis

* West Nile virus typhus

* Venezuelan equine encephalitis Rift Valley fever

* SARS virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever

* MERS coronavirus, yellow fever

* Hantaviruses malaria

Biohazard Level 4:

* Viruses that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines
or other treatments are not available, such as

* Bolivian hemorrhagic fever

* Marburg virus

* Ebola virus

* Lassa fever virus

* Crimean—Congo hemorrhagic fever

* Other hemorrhagic diseases and rishibola.

* Variola virus (smallpox) is an agent that is worked with at BSL-4 despite the
existence of a vaccine, as it has been eradicated. When dealing with
biological hazards at this level the use of a positive pressure personnel suit,
with a segregated air supply, is mandatory.