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A laboratory-acquired infection or LAI is an infection that is acquired in a laboratory, usually as part of a medical research facility or hospital.


Causes

There are various microbes, viruses, fungi, and parasites that can infect a host via several routes of transmission.


Prevention

Laboratory facilities handling microbes, viruses and/or parasites adhere to various biosecurity measures in order to prevent biosecurity accidents and incidents.


OECD Best Practice Guidelines for Biological Resource Centres

In 2001, experts from
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
countries created a consensus report called, calling upon "national governments to undertake actions to bring the BRC concept into being in concert with the international scientific community". The report details "Biological Resource Centres" (BRCs) as "repositories and providers of high-quality biological materials and information".


History

The first laboratory-acquired infection was reported at the time of Pasteur and Koch in 1890. Prior to 1950, few reports were made on laboratory-acquired infections, due to the lower level of awareness concerning the problem. In 1951, a paper from Sulkin and Pike presented data on viral infections contracted in laboratories, which advised caution on handling viruses in laboratory environments and brought public awareness to the issue. Soon after, the
American Public Health Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...
formed a standing committee on Laboratory Infections and Accidents and created a file to document cases of laboratory-acquired infections reported by the public and through private communications.


See also

* Dora Lush *
Biotechnology risk Biotechnology risk is a form of existential risk from biological sources, such as Genetic engineering, genetically engineered biological agents. The release of such high-consequence pathogens could be *deliberate (in the form of bioterrorism or b ...
* Biosafety level * List of accidents and incidents involving laboratory biosecurity


Reference section

{{Authority control Virology Microbiology Infectious diseases