Chinese expert consensus on biosafety management of highly pathogenic fungi: culture preservation, transport, inactivation, and disposal
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Blastomyces dermatitidis, Coccidioides species, Histoplasma species, and Paracoccidioides species are classified as Category II pathogenic microorganisms under China’s Catalogue of Pathogenic Microorganisms Transmissible to Humans. These dimorphic fungi produce aerosolizable spores at ambient temperature, persist in the environment for prolonged periods, and convert in vivo to pathogenic tissue forms, creating specific biosafety risks during culture storage, transport, inactivation, and disposal. Existing national regulations set out broad principles but lack technical specifications tailored to fungal biology. The Fungal Study Group of the Dermatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, together with multidisciplinary experts, reviewed Chinese and international regulations, standards, and literature and used a modified Delphi process to establish consensus. Nine recommendations were formulated, covering BSL-3 laboratory prerequisites, culture storage and inventory management, periodic verification and disposal of expired strains, intra- and inter-institutional transport, inactivation and disposal of materials, emergency response to equipment failure, power outage, and culture spills, and post-exposure medical management. This is the first operational technical document in China to address culture preservation, handling, transport, disposal, risk management, and emergency response for highly pathogenic fungal strains, translating statutory requirements into practical, fungus-specific, auditable, verifiable, and traceable procedures for qualified laboratories.
Source: Figshare
Authors: Wenjie Fang, Xinyao Liu, Keming Zhang, Bo Pan, Xiaofeng Hang, Lin Zhou, Cunwei Cao, Wenqiang Chang, Min Chen, Ruibing Chen, Yan Cui, Shuwen Deng, Bilin Dong, Mingwei Du, Peiying Feng, Meng Fu, Jie Gong, Bing Gu, Jian Guo, Li Han, Xuexin Hou, Chao Zhuo, Shan Hu, Guanghua Huang, Huaiqiu Huang, Xin Huang, Xun Huang, Weiwei Jiang, Yanping Jiang, Yingqian Kang, Fuqiu Li, Hui Li, Ruoyu Li, Shanshan Li, Guojian Liao, Yingping Lin, Bingyang Liu, Hongfang Liu, Jian Liu, Ning Liu, Ningning Liu, Wei Liu, Zehu Liu, Sha Lu, Quanzhen Lv, Ruilin Ma, Xiaopeng Mei, Palida Abulizi, Xiaowei Qu, Yuping Ran, Hailin Tang, Zhongsheng Tong, Li Wang, Liru Wang, Linqi Wang, Xiaowen Wang, Ying Wang, Haibin Wu, Shouzhen Wu, Weiwei Wu, Wenjuan Wu, Liyan Xi, Meng Xiao, Heping Xu, Yanan Xu, Yingchun Xu, Peng Xue, Xiaochun Xue, Xia Yang, Jianhua Yin, Hua Yu, Ping Zhan, Hong Zhang, Hua Zhang, Qiangqiang Zhang, Yuanwei Zhang, Fangwei Zheng, Xun Zhou, Min Zhu, Zhaoqin Zhu, Wanqing Liao, Jianbo Ba, Bin Xu, Zhiyong Zong, Weihua Pan
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225462431