Biosafety Month 2022
As part of a worldwide effort to eradicate polio, UW-Madison must report the acquisition or discovery of any poliovirus potentially infectious
materials to the U.S. National Authority for Containment of Poliovirus (NAC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Poliovirus potentially infectious materials (PIM) are anything that may unknowingly contain poliovirus because they were collected at a time and place where wild poliovirus or vaccine-derived poliovirus was in circulation or oral polio vaccine was in use. Examples include certain clinical specimens such as respiratory secretions and fecal samples, respiratory or enteric viral isolates, and environmental water samples.
All UW-Madison principal investigators must report any changes in their laboratory’s PIM inventory to the Office of Biological Safety (OBS). This includes the identification or acquisition of new PIM and the disposition or disposal of existing PIM that was previously reported to OBS or the NAC.
Coming soon! OBS is developing a poliovirus containment webpage with more information and Frequently Asked Questions about reporting requirements. Want to know more right now? Please reach out to andrea.ladd@wisc.edu.
More information about the NAC and the polio eradication efforts can be found on the CDC website.
It’s Biosafety and Biosecurity Month 2022! Learn about the latest biological safety updates that impact labs like yours on the UW–Madison campus, and get the flyer to help spread the word.
The UW-Madison Office of Biological Safety is a proud member of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA).