On request of the FlemishAgency for Care and Health, Public Health Surveillance, the Biosafety and Biotechnology Unit (SBB), which belongs to the Scientific Institute of Public Health, developed asurvey in the interest of mapping and evaluating the risk for "laboratory-acquired infections" (LAIs) related to bio-incidents with pathogenic organisms (genetically modified or not) in Flanders over the last 5 years (2007-2012). This timeframe was chosen in order to connect this survey report to a similar survey that was conducted by Ghent University in Flanders over the period 2001 to 2006 (1).Bio-incidents are defined as allirregularitiesthat occurwhile handling pathogenic organisms. They can be caused by human errors or technical failure.The term "laboratory-acquired infections" or LAIs refers to all direct or indirect human infections with or without the onset of symptoms following exposure to pathogenic organisms in a biological laboratory.According to the Belgian legislation on the protection of workers against biological agents at work, any accident or incident which may have resulted in the release of biological agents and which can cause an infection or serious illness in humans has to be notified to the authorities. However, while a certain number of papers on LAIs in the US and Europe has been published in scientific literature, very few data are available regarding their incidence in Belgium.The aim of this survey was to gather information on bio-incidents and LAIs in biological laboratories in the Flemish region and to gain insight into the possible underlying causes in order to provide biosafety officers, prevention officers and occupational health practitioners with tools that can enhance biological safety in the laboratory.
