Consequences of Failure to Apply International Standards for Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity: The 2007 Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak in the UK

Abstract

International standards have been elaborated for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity in relation to work on both human and animal pathogens. Comparing the findings from the two official reports (HSE, 2007; Spratt, 2007) regarding the 2007 Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in the United Kingdom (UK) with these international standards highlights several areas of deficiency in biosafety and biosecurity standards in laboratory facilities and in national guidance and procedures, suggesting that had the international standards been fully applied, the outbreak would not have occurred.

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