Biohazard Level 4 Pathogens

Biosafety Levels for Biological Agents

  • Arboviruses Virus BSL 2/3/4

  • Arenaviruses Virus BSL 3/4

  • Argentinian mammarenavirus (formerly Junín virus) Virus Tier 1

  • Brazilian mammarenavirus (formerly Sabiá mammarenavirus) Virus Tier 1

  • Chapare mammarenavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever orthonairovirus Virus Tier 1

  • Eastern equine encephalitis Virus Tier 1

  • Ebolavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Filoviruses Virus

  • Flavivirus Siberian subtype Virus

  • Guanarito mammarenavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Hendra henipavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Influenza reconstructed 1918 Virus

  • Kyasanur Forest disease virus Virus Tier 1

  • Lassa Fever Virus Virus Tier 1

  • Lassa mammarenavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Lujo mammarenavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Machupo mammarenavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Marburg Virus Virus Tier 1

  • Monkeypox Virus Tier 1

  • Nipah henipavirus Virus Tier 1

  • Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus Virus Tier 1

  • Rift Valley Fever phlebovirus Virus Tier 1

  • Smallpox (Variola major & minor) Virus Tier 1

  • Tick-Borne Encephalitis (Flavivirus) Far Eastern subtype Virus Tier 1

  • Tick-Borne Encephalitis (Flavivirus) Siberian subtype Virus Tier 1

  • Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus BSL 3/4 Tier 1

    • Builds on Biohazard Level 3

    • BSL-4 builds upon the containment requirements of BSL-3 and is the highest level of biological safety.

    Laboratory Practices

    • Change clothing before entering.
    • Shower upon exiting.
    • Decontaminate all materials before exiting.

    Safety Equipment

    • All work with the microbe must be performed within an appropriate Class III BSL , or by wearing a full body, air-supplied, positive pressure A suit.

    Facility Construction

    • The laboratory is in a separate building or in an isolated and restricted zone of the building.
    • The laboratory has dedicated supply and exhaust air, as well as vacuum lines and decontamination systems
    See What BSL-4 Looks Like

    Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory

    Q

    Book and Video Picks

    These videos/books are some that have a lot of educational information about serious viral epidemics.

    Facing Darkness

    Samaritan's Purse

    This is a dramtic documentary how Samaritan's Purse was called on by Medicine without Frontiers, the only other organization in the world to come alongside and fight Ebola in the Liberia.

    Dengue. The Hunt for a Vaccine

    Journeyman Pictures

    This documentary will show what the rest of the world deals with in this painful disease.

    Surviving Ebola

    NOVA

    This is a good general PBS documentary of Ebola.

    The Hot Zone

    Book & TV Series

    The National Geographic made-for-TV series came from the book by Richard Preston. This documents the case of Ebola Reston, which erupted in Reston, Virgina. The TV series takes some artistic liberties, and the book is much more detailed. It is worth experiencing both, however.