IBC
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are Risk Group (RG) levels?
In many countries, including the United States, infectious agents are categorized in risk groups based on their relative risk. Depending on the country and/or organization, this classification system might take the following factors into consideration:
- Pathogenicity of the organism
- Mode of transmission and host range
- Availability of effective preventive measures (e.g., vaccines)
- Availability of effective treatment (e.g., antibiotics)
- Other factors
Risk group classifications are primarily used in the research environment as part of a comprehensive biosafety risk assessment. There are four (4) risk group designations:
- (1) Risk Group 1 (RG1) agents are not associated with disease in healthy adult humans.
- (2) Risk Group 2 (RG2) agents are associated with human disease which is rarely serious and for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are often available.
- (3) Risk Group 3 (RG3) agents are associated with serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions may be available.
- (4) Risk Group 4 (RG4) agents are likely to cause serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are not usually available.
