Working Safely with African Swine Fever Virus.

Abstract

Risk assessment is the cornerstone of working safely with biological agents. The World Health Organization (WHO) Laboratory Biosafety Manual Fourth Edition Monograph on Risk Assessment provides stepwise guidance for carrying out a risk assessment, from gathering information and identifying hazards to evaluating the risks and developing and implementing controls and review.To support the development of a mature safety culture within laboratories, it is important that all staff who handle biological agents understand the process of risk assessment and receive training in identifying hazards and mitigating risk. All personnel can partake in risk assessments, and the guidance is written in such a way that it is applicable to all-not just to biosafety professionals, laboratory scientists, or facility managers.Here we take the guidance from WHO and apply the principles of risk assessment to working with ASFV, illustrating the process using an example activity-the passage of low titer ASFV in cell culture. We discuss other techniques and protocols that you may need to consider when working with ASFV.