Exposure to RB51: Laboratory Setting

In a laboratory setting, the risk for accidental exposure to RB51 is highest for procedures or manipulations that occur outside the class II biological safety cabinet and that have the potential for creating aerosols or splashes.

Examples of such procedures include:

• pipetting
• centrifuging
• grinding
• blending
• shaking
• mixing
• sonicating
• opening containers of infectious materials

Laboratories working specifically with RB51 isolates should perform all manipulations in a class II biological safety cabinet, utilizing biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) practices as described in Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5th Edition.