APPENDIX II
CLASSIFICATION OF MICROORGANISM ON THE BASIS OF HAZARD
Class 1 Agents
All bacterial, parasitic, fungal, viral, rickettsial and chlamydia agents not included in higher
classes.
Class 2 Agents
BACTERIAL AGENTS
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus
Actinobacillus--spp.
aeromonas hydrofoil
Arizona hinshawii--all serotypes
Bacillus anthracis
Bordetella--spp.
Borrelia recurrentis, B. vincentii
Campylobacter fetus
Campylobacter jejuni
Chlamydia psittaci
Chlamydia trachomatis
Clostridium botulinum
Cl. chuvoei, Cl. haemolyticum,
Cl. histolyticum, Cl. novyi,
Cl. septicum, Cl. tetani
Corynebacterium diptheriae,
C. equi, C. haemolyticum,
C. pseudotuberculosis,
C. pyogenes,C. renale
Edwardsiella tarda
Erysipelothrix insidiosa
Escherichia coli--all enteropathogenic, enterotoxigenic, enterotoxigenic, enteroinvasive, and stains
bearing K1 antigen
Haemophilus ducreyi, H. influenzae
Klebsiella--spp. and serotypes
Legionella pneumophila
Leptospira interrogans--spp.
Listeria--spp.
Moraxella--spp.
Mycobacterium--spp. except those listed in Class 3
Mycoplasma--spp. except Mycoplasma mycoides and Mycoplasma agalactiae, which are in Class 5
Neisseria gonorrhoea, N. meningitides
Nocardia--spp.
Pasteurella--spp. except those listed in Class 3
Class 2 Agents - Bacterial Agents
Continued
Salmonella--spp. and all serotypes
Shigella--spp. and all serotypes
Sphaerophorus necrophorus
Staphylococcus aureus
Streptobacillus moniliformis
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Streptococcus pyogenes
Treponema crateum, T. pallidum and T. pertenue
Vibrio cholerae
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Yersinia enterocolitica
FUNGAL AGENTS
Actinomycetales (including Actinomyces spp. and Arachnia propionica)2
Blastomyces dermatitdis
Cryptococcus neoformans
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
PARASITIC AGENTS
Entamoeba histolytica
Leishmania--spp.
Naegleria gruberi
Naegleria fowleri
Schistosoma mansoni
Toxoplasma gondii
Toxocara canis
Trichinella spiralis
Trypanosoma cruzi
Viral, Rickettsial, and Chlamydial Agents
Adenoviruses--human--all types
Cache Valley Virus
Corona viruses
Coxsackie A and B viruses
Cytomegaloviruses
Echoviruses--all types
Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMC)
Flanders virus
Hart Park virus
Hepatitis-associated antigen material
Herpesvirus-associated antigen material
Herpesviruses--except Herpesvirus simiae (Monkey B virus) which is in Class 4
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hTLV I/II
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (except large volumes or high concentrations which require
Biosafety Level 3)
Influenza viruses--all types except A/PR8/34, which is in Class 1
Langat virus
Measles virus
Mumps virus
Parainfluenza viruses--all types except Parainfluenza virus 4, SF 4 strain, which is in Class 1
Polioviruses--all types, wild and attenuated
Poxviruses-- all types, except Alastrim, Smallpox, and Whitepox, which are Class 5 and Monkey
pox that depending on experiments is in Class 3 or Class 4
Rabies virus--all strains except Rabies street virus, which should be classified in Class 3 or Class 4
Reoviruses--all types
Respiratory syncytial virus
Rhinoviruses--all types
Rochalimaea vinsonii
Rubella virus
Simian viruses--all types except Herpesvirus simiae (Monkey B virus) and Marburg virus, which
are
Class 4
Sindbis virus
Tensaw virus
Turlock virus
Vaccinia virus
Varicella virus
Vesicular stomtitis virus3
Yellow fever virus, 17d vaccine strain
Class 3 Agents
BACTERIAL AGENTS
Bartonella--spp.
Brucella--spp.
Francisella tularensis
Mycobacterium avium complex, M. bovis, M. tuberculosis
Pasteurella multocida type B (“buffalo” and other foreign virulent strains)3
Yersinia pestis
FUNGAL AGENTS
Coccidioides immitis
Histoplasma capsulatum
Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii
PARASITIC AGENTS
None
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VIRAL, RICKETTSIAL, AND CHLAMYDIAL AGENTS
Arboviruses--all strains except those in Class 2 and 4 (Arboviruses indigenous to the United States
are in
Class 3, except those listed in Class 2)
Coxiella burnettii
Ehrlichia--spp.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LMC)
Monkey pox virus, when used in vitro4
Rabies street virus
Rickettsia--spp. (except R. ruminantium) some nonpropagative procedures may be performed at
Biosafety Level 2
WestNile and Semliki Forest viruses may be classified up or down, depending on the conditions of
use and geographical location of the laboratory. Dengue virus, when used for transmission
or animal inoculation experiments.
Yellow fever virus--wild, when used in vitro
Class 4 Agents
BACTERIAL, FUNGAL, PARASITIC AGENTS
NONE
VIRAL, RICKETTSIAL, AND CHLAMYDIAL AGENTS
Ebola fever virus
Hemorrhagic fever agents, including Crimean hemorrhagic fever, (Congo), Junin,and Machupo
viruses, and others as yet undefined.
Herpesvirus simiae (Monkey B virus)
Lassa fever virus (Mastomys natalensis)
Marburg virus (Cercopithecus spp.)
Monkey pox, when used for transmission or animal inoculation experiments
Tick-borne encephalitis virus complex, including Russian spring-summer encephalitis, Kyasanur
forest disease, Omsk hemorrhagic fever and Central European encephalitis viruses.
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, epidemic strains, when used for transmission or animal
inoculation experiments
Yellow fever virus--wild, when used for transmission or animal inoculation experiments
Class 5 Agents
ANIMAL DISEASE ORGANISMS WHICH ARE FORBIDDEN ENTRY INTO THE
UNITED STATES BY LAW
Foot and mouth disease virus
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ANIMAL DISEASE ORGANISMS AND VECTORS WHICH ARE FORBIDDEN
ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES BY USDA POLICY
African horse sickness virus
African swine fever virus
Besnoitia besnoiti
Borna disease virus
Bovine infectious petechial fever agent
Camelpox virus
Ephemeral fever virus
Fowl plague virus
Goal pox virus
hog cholera virus
Louping ill virus
Lumpy skin disease virus
Mycoplasma agalactiae (contagious agalactia of sheep)
Mycoplasma mycoides (contagious bovine pleuropneumonia)
Nairobi sheep disease virus
Newcastle disease virus (velogenicstrains)
Rickettsia ruminantium (heart water)
Rift Valley fever virus
Rhinderpest virus
Sheeppox virus
Swine vesicular disease virus
Teschen disease virus
Theileria annually
Theileria bovis
Theileria hirei
Theileria lawrencei
Theileria parva (East Coast Fever)
Trypanosoma evansi
Trypanosoma vivax (Nagan)
Vesicular exanthema virus
Wesselsbron disease virus
Zyonema
ORGANISMS WHICH MAY NOT BE STUDIED IN THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT
AT SPECIFIED FACILITIES
Alastrim4
Smallpox4
Whitepox4
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CLASSIFICATION OF ONCOGENIC VIRUSES ON THE BASIS OF POTENTIAL
HAZARD5
Low-Risk Oncogenic Viruses
AD7-SV40
Adenovirus
Avian Leukosis
Bovine Leukemia
Bovine Papilloma
CELO
Dog Sarcoma
Guinea Pig Herpes
Hamster Leukemia
HTLV I/Ii
Lucke (Frog)
Marek’s
Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus
Mouse Mammary Tumor
Murine Leukemia
Murine Sarcoma
Polyoma
Rat Leukemia
Rat mammary Tumor
Rous Sarcoma
Shope Fibroma
Shope Papilloma
SV-40
MODERATE-RISK ONCOGENIC VIRUSES
Ad2-SV40
EBV
FeLV
FeSV
GaLV
HV Ateles
HV Saimiri
SSV-1
Yaba
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REFERENCES
1. The original reference for this classification was the publication Classification of
Etiologic Agents on the Basis of Hazard, 4th edition, July 1974, U.S. Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control,
Office of Biosafety, Atlanta, Georgia 30333. For the purpose of these Guidelines, this
list has been revised by the NIH.
2. Since the publication of the classification in 1974(1), the Actinomycetes have been
reclassified as bacterial rather than fungal agents.
3. A USDA permit, required for import and interstate transport of pathogens, may be
obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, Federal
Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
4. All activities, including storage of variola and whitepox , are restricted to the single
national facility (World Health Organization-WHO Collaborating Center for Smallpox
Research, Center for Disease Control, in Atlanta).
5. National Cancer Institute Safety Standards for Research Involving Oncogenic Viruses
(October, 1974) U.S. Department of Health , Education, and Welfare Publication No.
(NIH) 75-790.
6. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
7. Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, Centers for Disease Control
and National Institutes of Health, 2nd edition, May 1988.
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