Survey of laboratory-acquired infections around the world in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories

N. Wurtz (1) , A. Papa (2, 3) , M. Hukic (4) , A. Di Caro (5) , I. Leparc-Goffart (6) , Eric M. Leroy (7, 8) , M. Landini (9) , Z. Sekeyova (10) , J. Dumler (11) , D. Bădescu (12) , N. Busquets (13) , A. Calistri (14) , C. Parolin (14) , G. Palù (14) , I. Christova (15) , M. Maurin (16) , B. B. La Scola (1) , Didier Raoult (1)

1 URMITE - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes
2 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
3 ANUBiH - Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina [Sarajevo, Bosnie-Herzégovine]
4 International Burch University [Sarajevo]
5 National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Lazzaro Spallanzani"
6 Centre National de Référence (CNR) des Arbovirus - Laboratoire coordonnateur : Equipe Résidente de Recherche d'Infectiologie Tropicale (ERRIT),
7 MIVEGEC-VIROZ - Zoonoses virales et MTN
8 CIRMF - Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville
9 Policlinico S. Orsola-malpighi
10 SAS - Slovak Academy of Sciences
11 University of Maryland School of Medicine
12 Cantacuzino Institute [Romania]
13 CReSA - Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal [UAB, Spain]
14 Unipd - Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua
15 NCIPD - National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases [Sofia, Bulgarie]
16 Centre National de Référence des Francisella [CHU Grenoble]

Laboratory-acquired infections due to a variety of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi have been described over the last century, and laboratory workers are at risk of exposure to these infectious agents. However, reporting laboratory-associated infections has been largely voluntary, and there is no way to determine the real number of people involved or to know the precise risks for workers. In this study, an international survey based on volunteering was conducted in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories to determine the number of laboratory-acquired infections and the possible underlying causes of these contaminations. The analysis of the survey reveals that laboratory-acquired infections have been infrequent and even rare in recent years, and human errors represent a very high percentage of the cases. Today, most risks from biological hazards can be reduced through the use of appropriate procedures and techniques, containment devices and facilities, and the training of personnel.

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

N. Wurtz, A. Papa, M. Hukic, A. Di Caro, I. Leparc-Goffart, et al.. Survey of laboratory-acquired infections around the world in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories. European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2016, 35 (8), pp.1247-1258. ⟨10.1007/s10096-016-2657-1⟩. ⟨hal-01957535⟩