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Deadly disease outbreaks have become a frequent occurrence throughout the world with infectious agents such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Nipah virus of Malaysia, Hendra virus of Australia, hantavirus in the United States, and most recently, the Ebola virus in Africa (1). Additionally, new laboratory techniques have become reliant on the use of infectious agents for common procedures. Lentivirus, adenovirus, vaccinia virus, Escherchia coli, and human cancer cells are frequently found in research laboratories worldwide. With the increased exposure to these biological agents comes the greater risk of developing a laboratory-associated infection (LAI). Previous studies have accounted for 5,527 LAIs from 1930 to 2004, with 204 of these resulting in death (2–4). In a recent study of all LAIs from 1976 to 2010, it was found that there were 197 cases reported to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) due to exposure to specifically recombinant DNA-based materials (5). Unfortunately, most LAIs (82%) cannot be traced to a single incident to determine the cause of exposure (3, 5–7). Although good sterile and aseptic techniques are critical, virtually every activity in the laboratory gives rise to aerosols (8–10). Aerosols containing infectious agents, compounded by contact spread (11), could create an epidemic before any symptoms present. This underscores the need for protection from these agents, such as use of proper aseptic technique, personal protective equipment (PPE), and appropriate primary barriers. |
