The Public Health England Board (PHE Board), being the body responsible for the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC), the National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi (NCPF) and the National Collection of Pathogenic Viruses (NCPV), and the NCTC, NCPF and NCPV, being the manufacturers and suppliers of potentially hazardous materials, are obliged (under common law and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974 [HMSO; ISBN 0-10-543774-3) to issue the following warning and to specify Conditions of Supply, relating to the safe handling of NCTC, NCPF and NCPV cultures.
WARNING
All cultures supplied by NCTC, NCPF and NCPV must be regarded as potentially pathogenic, and be handled by, or under the supervision of, competent persons who have received training in microbiological techniques. In the UK this includes compliance, so far as it applies, with "Safe working and the prevention of infection in clinical laboratories and similar facilities" (Health Services Advisory Committee, second edition 2003, HSE Books, ISBN 0-7176-2513-3) and “The Approved List of biological agents” (Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, 2013) as amended from time to time. In other countries, compliance with national codes of practice is enjoined, or failing such a code, with equivalent WHO publications, or with the above quoted documents.
CONDITIONS OF SUPPLY: SAFETY
1. That the recipient has read the above warning
2. That the cultures will be used by the recipient, or under his/her direct personal supervision, or handled only by persons authorised by the recipient
3. That the cultures will not be handled by any person who has not read a copy of this Notice
4. That certain cultures, considered to be of special hazard, are subject to further conditions laid down in "Hazardous Pathogens"
5. That the responsibility for ensuring the safe handling of the cultures after receipt rests with the recipient. The PHE Board, NCTC, NCPF and NCPV cannot take any further responsibility for any untoward events arising from handling NCTC, NCPF and NCPV cultures, following their dispatch to the recipient
HAZARDOUS PATHOGENS
The following micro-organisms, among those maintained by NCTC, NCPF and NCPV, are classified as Hazard Group 3 Pathogens in “The Approved List of biological agents” (ACDP, 2013 [http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/misc208.pdf], wherein special procedures for the handling of these organisms are laid down.
Bacteria
Bacillus anthracis
Francisella tularensis (Type A)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Brucella spp.
Mycobacterium africanum
Mycobacterium ulcerans
Burkholderia mallei
Mycobacterium bovis
Salmonella paratyphi A,B,C
Pseudomonas mallei (excluding BCG strain)
Salmonella typhi
Burkholderia pseudomallei
Mycobacterium malmoense
Shigella dysenteriae (Type 1)
Pseudomonas pseudomallei
Mycobacterium microti
Yersinia pestis
Escherichia coli (verotoxigenic)
Mycobacterium szulgai
Fungi
Blastomyces dermatitidis
Cladophialophora bantiana
Coccidioides immitis
Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum
Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii
Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
Penicillium marneffei
Viruses
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis
Negishi
Mobala
Powassan
Mopeia
Hepatitis C
Flexal
Hepatitis B
Borna disease virus
Hepatitis D (Delta)
Akabane
Monkeypox
Germiston
Human immunodeficiency viruses
Oropouche
Human T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLV)
Belgrade (Dobrava) types 1 and 2
Hantaan (Korean haemorrhagic fever)
Simian immunodeficiency virus
Seoul
Duvenhage
Sin Nombre (formerly Muerto Canyon)
Piry
Bhanja
Rabies
Rift valley fever
Chikungunya
Hepatitis E
Eastern equine encephalomyelitis
SARS
Everglades
Dengue viruses types 1-4
Getah
Hepatitis G
Mayaro
Israel turkey meningoencephalomyelitis virus
Middleburg
Japanese B encephalitis
Mucambo
Murray Valley encephalitis
Ndumu
Rocio
Sagiyama
Sal Vieja
Tonate
San Perlita
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis
Spondweni
Western equine encephalomyelitis
St Louis encephalitis
Hepatitis viruses not yet identified
Wesselbron
Bovine spongiform encephalophathy (BSE)
West Nile fever
Yellow fever
Absettarov
Hanzalova
Tick Borne Encephalitis
Kumlinge
Kuru
Louping ill
Additionally, the NCTC, on the advice of the HSE, considers that the following bacteria, although listed as Hazard Group 2 in the above ACDP list, require most of the same safe handling procedures as Hazard Group 3 Pathogens.
Clostridium botulinum
Mycobacterium scrofulaceum
Salmonella enteritidis var. chaco
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Mycobacterium simiae
Salmonella sendai
Mycobacterium avium
Mycobacterium xenopi
Shigella spp. (not listed above)
Mycobacterium intracellulare
Neisseria meningtitidis
Vibrio cholerae (O1 and O139)
Mycobacterium kansasii
Salmonella choleraesuis
NCTC, NCPF and NCPV cultures of any of the above listed micro-organisms are supplied under the same conditions applying to all cultures and the following further conditions:
1. That the cultures are supplied only in response to a request signed by a Head of Department/Managing Director (or persons authorised by him/her) and whose signature(s) are on deposit with the NCTC, NCPF and/or NCPV by means of the requisite form (obtainable from the relevant collection on request)
2. That the above list of species may be amended by NCTC, NCPF or NCPV in response to advice given by appropriate authorities
3. That these conditions apply to cultures marked on Delivery Notes accompanying consignments of cultures as "Hazard Group 3" (or "Hazardous Pathogens" for the above additional bacterial taxa)
4. That UK orders for the following micro-organisms, listed under the "Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998", must be accompanied by a copy of a valid licence under that order (obtainable from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA]) permitting the laboratory to hold or handle such organisms
Bacteria
| Bacillus anthracis | Brucella suis | Mycoplasma capricolum |
| Brucella abortus | Burkholderia mallei | Mycoplasma mycoides |
| Brucella melitensis | (Pseudomonas mallei) | Mycoplasma mycoides var. capri |
| Brucella ovis | Mycoplasma agalactiae |
Viruses
African horse sickness virus,
Newcastle disease virus (pathogenic types)
African swine fever virus,
Nipah virus
Aujeszky’s disease virus
Peste des petits ruminants virus
Avian influenza viruses (uncharacterised)
Rabies virus
All viruses of the genus Lyssavirus
Avian influenza viruses (pathogenic Type A strains)
Rift Valley Fever virus
Blue tongue virus
Rinderpest virus
Bovine leukosis virus
Sheep and goat pox virus
Classical swine fever virus
St Louis equine encephalomyelitis virus
Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis viruses
Swine vesicular disease
Equine infectious anaemia virus
Teschen disease virus
Equine morbillivirus
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus
Foot and mouth disease virus
Vesicular stomatitis virus
Japanese encephalitis virus
Viral haemorrhagic disease of rabbits
Lumpy skin disease virus
West Nile virus
Newcastle disease virus (uncharacterised)
ADVICE
Cultures of the above listed species should not be requested unless the recipients’ laboratory facilities and training of staff conform, so far as it applies, with the Health Services Advisory Committee code of practice and the ACDP document, or overseas, with equivalent national or international codes. If in doubt, the recipient should consult the appropriate regulatory body. In the UK, these bodies are the Health and Safety Executive [HSE] or Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA].