Volume 14, Number 7—July 2008
Online Report
Materials Available Online Only
Management of Accidental Laboratory Exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. mallei
Sharon J. Peacock*
, Herbert P. Schweizer†, David A.B. Dance‡, Theresa L. Smith§, Jay E. Gee§, Vanaporn Wuthiekanun*, David DeShazer¶, Ivo Steinmetz#, Patrick Tan, and Bart J. Currie††
, Herbert P. Schweizer†, David A.B. Dance‡, Theresa L. Smith§, Jay E. Gee§, Vanaporn Wuthiekanun*, David DeShazer¶, Ivo Steinmetz#, Patrick Tan, and Bart J. Currie††Table 1
Risk assessment of laboratory incidents involving Burkholderia pseudomallei
| Low risk |
| Inadvertent opening of the lid of an agar plate growing B. pseudomallei outside a biologic safety cabinet |
| Inadvertent sniffing of agar plate growing B. pseudomallei in the absence of contact between worker and bacterium |
| Splash event leading to visible contact of B. pseudomallei with gloved hand or protected body, in the absence of any evidence of aerosol |
| Spillage of small volume of liquid culture (<1mL) within a functioning biologic safety cabinet |
| Contamination of intact skin with culture |
| High risk |
| The presence of any predisposing condition without proper personal protective equipment (PPE): diabetes mellitus; chronic liver or kidney disease; alcohol abuse; long-term steroid use; hematologic malignancy; neutropenia or neutrophil dysfunction; chronic lung disease (including cystic fibrosis); thalassemia; any other form of immunosuppression |
| Needlestick or other penetrating injury with implement contaminated with B. pseudomallei |
| Bite or scratch by experimental animal infected with B. pseudomallei |
| Splash event leading to contamination of mouth or eyes |
| Generation of aerosol outside biologic safety cabinet (e.g., sonication, centrifuge incident) |
