1988 Agent Summary Statement for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Report on Laboratory-Acquired Infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus [MMWR, Vol 37 No.S-4]

Vol. 37 / No. S-4

MMWR

Agent Summary Statement for
Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIVs)
Including HTLV-III, LAV, HIV-1, and HIV-2*
INTRODUCTION
In 1984, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), in consultation with experts from academic institutions, industry, and government, published the book Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories
("Guidelines" )t (1)
These Guidelines are based on combinations of standard and special practices,
equipment, and facilities recommended for use in working with infectious agents in
various laboratory settings. The recommendations are advisory; they provide a
general code for operating microbiologic and biomedical laboratories.
One section of the Guidelines is devoted to standard and special microbiologic
practices, safety equipment, and facilities for biosafety levels (BSL) 1 through 4.
Another section contains specific agent summary statements, each consisting of a
brief description of laboratory-associated infections, the nature of laboratory hazards,
and recommended precautions for working with the causative agent. The authors
realized that the discovery of the availability of information about these agents would
necessitate updating the agent summary. Such a statement for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (called HTLV-IIl/LAV when the Guidelines were published) was
published in MMWR in 1986 (2). The HIV agent summary statement printed in this
Supplement updates the 1986 statement.
Attached to the updated HIV agent summary statement are the essential elements
for BSL 2 and 3 laboratories, reproduced from the Guidelines (1) (see Addendum 1,
p. 6). BSL 2 and 3 laboratory descriptions are included because they are recommended for laboratory personnel working with HIV, depending on the concentration
or quantity of virus or the type of laboratory procedures used.
*The information and recommendations contained in this document were developed and
compiled by the Division of Safety, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the
National Cancer Institute, and the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health; Food and
Drug Administration; and the following CDC units: AIDS Program, Hospital Infections Program,
Office of the Director, Center for Infectious Diseases; the Training and Laboratory Program
Office; and the Office of Biosafety, Office of the Centers Director; Representatives of the
following organizations also collaborated in the effort: the American Academy of Microbiology,
the American Biological Safety Association, the American Society for Microbiology, the
American Society for Clinical Pathology, the Association of State and Territorial Public Health
Laboratory Directors, the College of American Pathologists, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Association, and the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research.
'Available from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402, Stock #01702300167-1; or from National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, Stock #PB84-206879.