Chapter VIII Minimum safety requirements for ASF laboratories
United Kingdom
Table 1
Principles of biological containment appropriate for diagnostic laboratories
| Minimum requirements | Additional requirements | |
|---|---|---|
General environment | Normal atmospheric pressure. Dedicated rooms limited to defined proce- dures. | Normal atmospheric pressure. One HEPA filtration of exhaust air. Dedicated rooms, used exclusively for clas- sical swine fever or ASF diagnostic proce- dures. Potentially contaminated effluents treated to inactivate ASF virus (heat or chemical). |
Laboratory clothing | Dedicated outer clothing used only in the ASF virus unit. Disposable gloves for all manipulations of infected material. Outer clothing sterilised before removal from unit, or washed at a high tempera- ture within unit. | Complete change of clothes on entry. Laboratory clothing used only in the ASF virus unit. Disposable gloves for all manipulations of infected material. Clothing sterilised before removal from unit, or washed at a high temperature within unit. |
Control of personnel | Entry to unit limited to named, trained personnel. Wash and disinfect hands on leaving unit. Personnel not permitted to visit premises with pigs for 48 hours after leaving unit. | Entry to unit limited to named, trained personnel. Wash and disinfect hands on leaving unit. Personnel not permitted to visit premises with pigs for 48 hours after leaving unit. |
Equipment | Biological safety cabinet (class I or II) used for all manipulations of live virus. Cabinet should have double HEPA filtration of exhaust air. All equipment needed for laboratory procedures to be available within the dedicated laboratory suite. | |
Table 2
Bio-safety requirements for experimental animal rooms
| Requirements | |
|---|---|
General environment | Negative-pressure-controlled ventilation. One HEPA filtration of exhaust air. Facility for complete decontamination or fumigation at end of experiment. All solid and liquid waste effluents treated to inactivate ASF virus (heat/incineration or chemical). |
Laboratory clothing | Complete change of clothes on entry. Clothing sterilised before removal from unit, or washed at a high temperature within unit. |
Control of personnel | Entry to unit limited to named, trained personnel. Leave clothes inside before shower. Full shower on exit from unit. Personnel not permitted to visit premises with pigs for 48 hours after leaving unit. |
Equipment | All equipment required for animal procedures to be available within the unit. All materials to be sterilised on removal from unit or, in the case of animal samples, to be double-wrapped in leakproof container which is surface disinfected for transport to the ASF laboratory. |
Animals | All animals to be slaughtered before leaving the unit, post-mortem examinations to be completed within the bio-safe area, and carcases incinerated on completion of examina- tions. |