Biosafety Level 1

Suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to cause disease in health adult humans and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment

• Examples
  • Bacillus subtilis
  • Bacillus cerculans
  • Escherichia coli, (non-pathogenic strains such as K-12)

Biosafety Level 2

Suitable for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment, immunization or antibiotic treatment is available in the event of exposure.

• Examples
  
  • Measles Virus
  • Hepatitis B Virus
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Clostridium perfringens
  • Salmonellae, such as S. tyhpi

Note: All work involving the use of cultured human an animal cell lines, according to the University of Arizona's Biosafety Manual must be conducted at Biosafety Level 2.

Biosafety Level 3

Suitable for work involving agents which may cause serious or protentially lethal disease as a result of exposure by the inhalation route with serious potential hazard to personnel and the environment. There are no available vaccines or therapeutic treatments available.

• Examples
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Coccidioides immitis
  • Brucella melitensis
  • St. Louis encephalitis virus
  • HIV-1