Biosafety standards for working with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus.
In countries from which Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is absent, the causative virus, CCHF virus (CCHFV), is classified as a hazard group 4 agent and handled in containment level (CL)-4. In contrast, most endemic countries out of necessity have had to perform diagnostic tests under biosafety level (BSL)-2 or -3 conditions. In particular, Turkey and several of the Balkan countries have safely processed more than 100 000 samples over many years in BSL-2 laboratories. It is therefore advocated that biosafety requirements for CCHF diagnostic procedures should be revised, to allow the tests required to be performed under enhanced BSL-2 conditions with appropriate biosafety laboratory equipment and personal protective equipment used according to standardized protocols in the countries affected. Downgrading of CCHFV research work from CL-4, BSL-4 to CL-3, BSL-3 should also be considered.
Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK.
Manfred
M
Weidmann
Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical Faculty of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Tatjana
T
Avsic-Zupanc
Institute of Public Health, Control of Infectious Diseases Department, Tirana, Albania.
Silvia
S
Bino
Institut Pasteur, Bunyaviruses Molecular Genetics, Paris, France.
Michelle
M
Bouloy
Department of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Felicity
F
Burt
Laboratory of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Ref Lab), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Sadegh
S
Chinikar
National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Iva
I
Christova
National Institute of Public Health in Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo.
Isuf
I
Dedushaj
Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Ahmed
A
El-Sanousi
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Medicine, Sivas, Turkey.
Nazif
N
Elaldi
Public Health England, Porton Down, Wiltshire, Salisbury, UK.
Roger
R
Hewson
Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Brandenburg Medical School, Senftenberg, Germany.
Frank T
FT
Hufert
National Institute of Public Health in Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo.
Isme
I
Humolli
National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Petrus
P
Jansen van Vuren
Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Zeliha
Z
Koçak Tufan
Public Health Institution of Turkey, Virology Reference and Research Laboratory, Ankara, Turkey.
Gülay
G
Korukluoglu
Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Pieter
P
Lyssen
Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Department for Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska Institute, and Karolinska Hospital University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ali
A
Mirazimi
Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Johan
J
Neyts
Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Highly Pathogenic Viruses, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
Matthias
M
Niedrig
Department of Virology, Ankara University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Aykut
A
Ozkul
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Anna
A
Papa
National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Janusz
J
Paweska
Arbovirus unit, Pasteur Institute, Dakar, Senegal.
Amadou A
AA
Sall
US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.
Connie S
CS
Schmaljohn
Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Robert
R
Swanepoel
Department of Medical Microbiology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Yavuz
Y
Uyar
Institute for Virology, Justus Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
Friedemann
F
Weber
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden.
Herve
H
Zeller
D000818:Animals; D003264:Containment of Biohazards / Q000592:standards*; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000592:standards