Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: In countries from which Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is absent, the causative virus, CCHF virus (CCHFV), is classified as a hazard group 4 agent and handled in containment level (CL)-4. In contrast, most endemic countries out of necessity have had to perform diagnostic tests under biosafety level (BSL)-2 or -3 conditions. In particular, Turkey and several of the Balkan countries have safely processed more than 100 000 samples over many years in BSL-2 laboratories. It is therefore advocated that biosafety requirements for CCHF diagnostic procedures should be revised, to allow the tests required to be performed under enhanced BSL-2 conditions with appropriate biosafety laboratory equipment and personal protective equipment used according to standardized protocols in the countries affected. Downgrading of CCHFV research work from CL-4, BSL-4 to CL-3, BSL-3 should also be considered.
Source: Journal of General Virology
DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.000610
Authors: Manfred Weidmann, Tatjana Avsic-Zupanc, Silvia Bino, Michelle Bouloy, Felicity Burt, Sadegh Chinikar, Iva Christova, Isuf Dedushaj, Ahmed El-Sanousi, Nazif Elaldi, Roger Hewson, Frank T. Hufert, Isme Humolli, Petrus Jansen van Vuren, Zeliha Koçak Tufan, Gülay Korukluoglu, Pieter Lyssen, Ali Mirazimi, Johan Neyts, Matthias Niedrig, Aykut Ozkul, Anna Papa, Janusz Paweska, Amadou A. Sall, Connie S. Schmaljohn, Robert Swanepoel, Yavuz Uyar, Friedemann Weber, Herve Zeller
Institutions: University of Stirling, University of Ljubljana, Institute of Public Health, Institut Pasteur, University of the Free State, Pasteur Institute of Iran, National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Cairo University, Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi, Public Health England, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Ankara Atatürk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Robert Koch Institute, Ankara University, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, University of Pretoria, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul University, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Language: English
Topic: Viral Infections and Vectors
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2522666331