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Comparative Analysis of the Fourth and Fifth Editions of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories Section IV (BSL2-4)

Published March 2008

Charles J. Crews and Edward E. Gaunt recently developed a matrix of changes between Section IV of the current and former editions of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), focusing on biosafety levels two, three, and four (BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4). Citations containing multiple statements were subdivided into individually addressable statements and statements with similar/identical scope were aligned, allowing for a precise comparative analysis.

In addition, statements were categorized for further analysis based on the subject of the change, the type of change, and the outcome of the change. Although the Fifth Edition of BMBL (BMBL5) proved to be a close facsimile of its predecessor, Crews and Gaunt identified 375 total changes, including 165 novel statements not addressed in the former edition. More than 65 percent (110) of these changes were found in statements pertaining to BSL-4 containment. In the study, they further examine these edition differences and identify key areas where those entities responsible for compliance with these new recommendations may wish to focus their efforts.

For a complete change matrix covering BSL-2 through 4, please visit the ABSA Web site at www.absa.org/word/BMBLChangeMatrix.xls where the change matrix tool has been posted.

To read the entire analysis, please reference the ABSA Journal, Applied Biosafety (Volume 13, Number 1, 2008). Reprinted with permission. © 2008 Constella Group, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, and the American Biological Safety Association, Mundelein, Illinois.

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