Risk group classification (prokaryotes): European Community classification
Updated: September 09, 2005Acknowledgements
The author is very grateful to Dr B.J. Tindall (DSMZ) for his helpful comments and corrections.
Group 1 - Group 2 - Group 3 - Group 4
The following risk group classification is based on the lists published by the French Official Gazettes (the spelling mistakes have been corrected) and the European Council Directives. The nomenclature has been updated.
For biological agents appearing on the list given below, "spp." refers to other species which are known pathogens in humans.
References:
1 Arrêté du 18 juillet 1994 fixant la liste des agents biologiques pathogènes. Journal Officiel du 30 juillet 1994, pp. 9719-9722.
2 Arrêté du 30 juin 1998 modifiant l'arrêté du 18 juillet 1994 modifié fixant la liste des agents biologiques pathogènes. Journal Officiel du 22 juillet 1998, pp. 11207-11208.
3 Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work.
4 Council Directive 90/679/EEC of 26 November 1990 on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work (seventh individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC).
5 Commission Directive 97/59/EC of 7 October 1997 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 90/679/EEC on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work (seventh individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (Text with EEA relevance).
6 Commission Directive 97/65/EC of 26 November 1997 adapting, for the third time, to technical progress Council Directive 90/679/EEC on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work (Text with EEA relevance).
7 Directive 2000/54/ec of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work (seventh individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC).
Note: The Council Directives and the Commission Directives cited above are available on the Internet. See: http://europa.eu.int/.
Definitions
- Group 1: A biological agent that is most unlikely to cause human disease.
- Group 2: A biological agent that may cause human disease and which might be a hazard to laboratory workers but is unlikely to spread in the community. Laboratory exposure rarely produces infection and effective prophylaxis or treatment is available.
- Group 3: A biological agent that may cause severe human disease and present a serious hazard to laboratory workers. It may present a risk of spread in the community but there is usually effective prophylaxis or treatment.
- Group 4: A biological agent that causes severe human disease and is a serious hazard to laboratory workers. It may present a high risk of spread in the community and there is usually no effective prophylaxis or treatment.
Nota bene:
- Animal and plant pathogens which are known not to affect man are excluded.
- Genetically modified micro-organisms are not taken into consideration.
- The lists of classified bacteria are based on the effect of those bacteria on healthy workers.
- Bacteria which have not been classified for inclusion in Group 2 to 4 of the list are not implicitly classified in Group 1.
- When a whole genus is mentioned, it is implicit that the species and strains known to be non-pathogenic are excluded.
- When a strain is attenuated or has lost known virulence genes, then the containment required by the classification of its parent strain need not necessarily apply, subject to assessment appropriate for risk in the workplace. For example when such a strain is to be used as a product or part of a product for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes.
More information:
1 Belgian Biosafety Server
2 Risk Group Classification for Infectious Agents (American Biological Safety Association).
3 Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 4th Edition, 1999 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health).
4 Office of Laboratory Security (Health Canada).
5 SMITH (D.), ROHDE (C.) and HOLMES (B.): The safe handling and distribution of microorganisms under the law. Available on the Internet : http://130.241.92.166/hazard1.pdf.
Group 1 - Group 2 - Group 3 - Group 4
Group 1 (European Community classification)
Any bacteria which have been subject to risk assessment and not included in groups 2,3 or 4.
Organisms recently described in the literature may not appear in these lists, but it cannot be assumed automatically that they belong in Group 1.
Group 2 (European Community classification)
- Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans).
- Actinomadura madurae.
- Actinomadura pelletieri.
- Actinomyces gerencseriae.
- Actinomyces israelii.
- Actinomyces spp.
- Arcanobacterium haemolyticum.
- Arcanobacterium pyogenes (Actinomyces pyogenes, Corynebacterium pyogenes).
- Bacteroides fragilis.
- Bartonella bacilliformis.
- Bartonella quintana (Rochalimaea quintana).
- Bartonella spp. (Rochalimaea spp.).
- Bordetella bronchiseptica.
- Bordetella parapertussis.
- Bordetella pertussis.
- Borrelia burgdorferi.
- Borrelia duttonii.
- Borrelia recurrentis.
- Borrelia spp.
- Brachyspira spp.
- Campylobacter fetus.
- Campylobacter jejuni.
- Campylobacter spp.
- Cardiobacterium hominis.
- Chlamydia trachomatis.
- Chlamydophila abortus.
- Chlamydophila caviae.
- Chlamydophila felis.
- Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Chlamydia pneumoniae).
- Clostridium botulinum.
- Clostridium perfringens.
- Clostridium tetani.
- Clostridium spp.
- Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
- Corynebacterium minutissimum.
- Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.
- Corynebacterium spp.
- Edwardsiella tarda.
- Ehrlichia spp.
- Eikenella corrodens.
- Elizabethkingia meningoseptica (Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Chryseobacterium meningosepticum).
- Enterobacter aerogenes (= Klebsiella mobilis).
- Enterobacter cloacae.
- Enterobacter spp.
- Enterococcus spp.
- Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.
- Escherichia coli, except non pathogenic strains and verocytotoxigenic strains (group 3).
- Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica ("Francisella tularensis var. palaearctica", Francisella tularensis type B).
- Fusobacterium necrophorum.
- Gardnerella vaginalis (Haemophilus vaginalis).
- Haemophilus ducreyi.
- Haemophilus influenzae.
- Haemophilus spp.
- Helicobacter pylori (Campylobacter pyloridis (sic), Campylobacter pylori, Campylobacter pylori subsp. pylori).
- Klebsiella oxytoca.
- Klebsiella pneumoniae.
- Klebsiella spp.
- Legionella bozemanae corrig. (Fluoribacter bozemanae).
- Legionella pneumophila.
- Legionella spp.
- Leptospira interrogans, sensu lato (all serovars).
- Listeria ivanovii.
- Listeria monocytogenes.
- Morganella morganii (Proteus morganii).
- Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium.
- Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis).
- Mycobacterium avium subsp. silvaticum.
- Mycobacterium chelonae.
- Mycobacterium fortuitum.
- Mycobacterium intracellulare.
- Mycobacterium kansasii.
- Mycobacterium malmoense.
- Mycobacterium marinum.
- Mycobacterium scrofulaceum.
- Mycobacterium simiae.
- Mycobacterium szulgai.
- Mycobacterium xenopi.
- Mycoplasma caviae.
- Mycoplasma hominis.
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
- Neisseria meningitidis.
- Neorickettsia sennetsu (Ehrlichia sennetsu, Rickettsia sennetsu).
- Nocardia asteroides.
- Nocardia brasiliensis.
- Nocardia farcinica.
- Nocardia nova.
- Nocardia otitidiscaviarum.
- Pasteurella multocida.
- Pasteurella spp.
- Peptostreptococcus anaerobius.
- Plesiomonas shigelloides.
- Porphyromonas spp.
- Prevotella spp.
- Proteus mirabilis.
- Proteus penneri.
- Proteus vulgaris.
- Providencia alcalifaciens.
- Providencia rettgeri (Proteus rettgeri).
- Providencia spp.
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- Rhodococcus equi (Corynebacterium equi).
- Rickettsia spp., except: Orientia (Rickettsia) tsutsugamushi (group 3), Rickettsia akari (group 3), Rickettsia canadensis (group 3), Rickettsia conorii (group 3), Rickettsia montanensis (group 3), Rickettsia prowazekii (group 3), Rickettsia rickettsii (group 3) and Rickettsia typhi (group 3).
- Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae (Salmonella arizonae, Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. arizonae).
- Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella enteritidis).
- Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Paratyphi A (Salmonella paratyphi), Paratyphi B, and Paratyphi C.
- Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (Salmonella typhimurium).
- Salmonella spp., except Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi (group 3).
- Shigella boydii.
- Shigella dysenteriae, except type 1 (group 3).
- Shigella flexneri.
- Shigella sonnei.
- Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus.
- Streptobacillus moniliformis.
- Streptococcus pneumoniae.
- Streptococcus pyogenes.
- Streptococcussuis.
- Streptococcus spp.
- "Treponema carateum".
- Treponema pallidum.
- "Treponema pertenue" ("Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue").
- Treponema spp.
- Vibrio cholerae (including El Tor).
- Vibrio parahaemolyticus (= Beneckea parahaemolytica).
- Vibrio spp.
- Yersinia enterocolitica.
- Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
- Yersinia spp., except Yersinia pestis (group 3).
Leptospira interrogans sensu lato includes: Leptospira alexanderi, Leptospira borgpetersenii, Leptospira fainei, Leptospira inadai, Leptospira interrogans, Leptospira kirschneri, Leptospira noguchii, Leptospira santarosai, Leptospira weilii.
Group 3 (European Community classification)
- Bacillus anthracis.
- Brucella melitensis (sensu stricto).
- Brucella melitensis biovar Abortus (Brucella abortus).
- Brucella melitensis biovar Canis (Brucella canis).
- Brucella melitensis biovar Suis (Brucella suis).
- Burkholderia mallei (Pseudomonas mallei).
- Burkholderia pseudomallei (Pseudomonas pseudomallei).
- Chlamydophila psittaci (Chlamydia psittaci).
- Coxiella burnetii.
- Escherichia coli, verocytotoxigenic strains (e.g. O157:H7, O103). These strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because they are not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis ("Francisella tularensis subsp. nearctica", Francisella tularensis biovar Tularensis, Francisella tularensis type A).
- Mycobacterium africanum.
- Mycobacterium bovis, except bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).
- Mycobacterium leprae.
- Mycobacterium microti. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- Mycobacterium ulcerans. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Orientia tsutsugamushi (Rickettsia tsutsugamushi).
- Rickettsia akari. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Rickettsia canadensis corrig. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Rickettsia conorii.
- Rickettsia montanensis corrig. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Rickettsia prowazekii.
- Rickettsia rickettsii.
- Rickettsia typhi.
- Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi (Salmonella typhi). The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Shigella dysenteriae type 1. The strains may present a limited risk of infection for workers because it is not normally infectious by air-borne route.
- Yersinia pestis.
Group 4 (European Community classification)
No bacteria are included in this group.
