Biohazard Warnings and Precautions

Biosafety is a practice that must be carried out consistently and carefully. While care and consistency are essential, the key to protecting yourself is to handle all blood, body fluids, and materials that may have contacted blood and body fluids, as if known to be infectious. All system surfaces, tools, clothing, and other objects that have come into contact with samples or waste fluid should be considered hazardous.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have issued guidelines for individuals whose occupation causes them to be exposed to biohazardous materials. The recommendations are developed to emphasize the need to treat all blood and other body fluids as potentially infectious. This section provides a general review of universal precautions to be exercised while working in biohazardous situations. It summarizes guidelines issued by the CDC, as well as guidelines from the Behring Biosafety manual for personnel working in Biosafety Level 2 laboratories. Read these guidelines before operating the system and retain them for future reference. Compliance to these guidelines greatly reduces the risk of injury and exposure to health hazards. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have both stated, "Human serum from any source that is used as a control/calibrator or reagent should be handled at a Biosafety Level 2 (BSL 2) requirement." The guidelines provided in this section are provided to help you meet the BSL 2 requirement. Always consult the latest version of the CDC guidelines, as well as applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

Any test performed for hepatitis, syphilis, HIV antibody, or any other infectious agent or antibody may not demonstrate presence or absence of a specific antigen or antibody. Consequently, the CDC and NIH advisory committee has recommended that blood and body fluid precautions be consistently used for all samples, even if they have tested "negative." This approach eliminates the need to selectively identify any sample for HIV, hepatitis, or other blood-borne pathogens. If a health care worker develops HIV infection during pregnancy, the infant is at risk of infection resulting from perinatal transmission. Because of this risk, pregnant health care workers should be especially familiar with and strictly adhere to safety precautions to minimize the risk of HIV transmission. The information presented here is not a complete guide to biosafety and precautions, and should be used for review purposes only.

• Use barrier protection—Wear a laboratory coat, eye protection, and gloves. If you have any exposed cuts or scrapes, wear bandages.
• Assume that the work environment is biohazardous—This includes the following items:
  • Samples analyzed with the system
  • System surfaces and work surfaces
  • Barrier clothing, tools, and other objects in the laboratory
• Avoid contact with the face—While in the laboratory, never touch you face with hands (gloves), sleeves, systems, or other objects.
• Discard waste materials properly—Place waste in a biohazard container or drainage system.

Note—When at a customer site, consult with the laboratory personnel about their handling and disposal procedures for biohazardous waste.

• Report spills and accidents promptly—Follow established procedures.
• When you are finished—Before leaving the laboratory, complete the following tasks:
  • Remove barrier clothing, gloves, and glasses
  • Clean lab surfaces according to laboratory policies
  • Wash hands