The Biosafety Research Road Map: The Search for Evidence to Support Practices in the Laboratory—Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus and Lassa Virus

Blacksell, Stuart D.; Dhawan, Sandhya; Kusumoto, Marina; Le, Kim Khanh; Summermatter, Katharina; O'Keefe, Joseph; Kozlovac, Joseph; Almuhairi, Salama Suhail; Sendow, Indrawati; Scheel, Christina M.; Ahumibe, Anthony; Masuku, Zibusiso M.; Bennett, Allan M.; Kojima, Kazunobu; Harper, David R.; Hamilton, Keith (2023). The Biosafety Research Road Map: The Search for Evidence to Support Practices in the Laboratory—Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus and Lassa Virus. Applied biosafety, 28(2), pp. 64-71. Mary Ann Liebert 10.1089/apb.2022.0044

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Introduction: Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus and Lassa virus (LASV) are zoonotic agents regarded as high-consequence pathogens due to their high case fatality rates. CCHF virus is a vector-borne disease and is transmitted by tick bites. Lassa virus is spread via aerosolization of dried rat urine, ingesting infected rats, and direct contact with or consuming food and water contaminated with rat excreta.

Methods: The scientific literature for biosafety practices has been reviewed for both these two agents to assess the evidence base and biosafety-related knowledge gaps. The review focused on five main areas, including the route of inoculation/modes of transmission, infectious dose, laboratory-acquired infections, containment releases, and disinfection and decontamination strategies.

Results: There is a lack of data on the safe collection and handling procedures for tick specimens and the infectious dose from an infective tick bite for CCHF investigations. In addition, there are gaps in knowledge about gastrointestinal and contact infectious doses for Lassa virus, sample handling and transport procedures outside of infectious disease areas, and the contribution of asymptomatic carriers in viral circulation.

Conclusion: Due to the additional laboratory hazards posed by these two agents, the authors recommend developing protocols that work effectively and safely in highly specialized laboratories in non-endemic regions and a laboratory with limited resources in endemic areas.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Review Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute for Infectious Diseases
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute for Infectious Diseases > Clinical Microbiology

UniBE Contributor:

Summermatter, Kathrin

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1535-6760

Publisher:

Mary Ann Liebert

Language:

English

Submitter:

Katharina Summermatter

Date Deposited:

14 Jun 2023 07:31

Last Modified:

08 May 2024 11:29

Publisher DOI:

10.1089/apb.2022.0044

PubMed ID:

38090357

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/183392

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/183392

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