Safety

When working with any type of research project, environmental, ethical, and biological safety are all factors that need to be acknowledged. We have compiled an in-depth explanation of the safety measures we are taking to ensure all safety factors are covered.

U of L Synbridge Laboratory

The U of L Synbridge Laboratory (Synthetic Biology Maker Space) is a state-of-the-art lab space in the U of L Science Commons, provided by the University of Lethbridge. For our iGEM project, we work in the Synbridge laboratory to run our experiments and develop our project. While conducting any experiments and using the lab space, we follow all safety guidelines and we ensure a safe laboratory environment is maintained, physically, mentally, ethically, etc. Proper lab safety procedure is followed, including appropriate PPE, hygiene, proper disposal of waste, appropriate lab conduct, following all safety directives, proper handling of materials and use of equipment, and following all BSL-1 lab safety requirements. All persons working in the lab have received WHMIS and SDS instruction prior to any lab work.

Lab Safety

Bovine Respiratory Disease

Proper disposal methods are essential in ensuring that there is no environmental contamination of pathogen DNA. (Oma et. al. 2018), showed that specific BRD viral RNA has the potential to spread to other herds through the process of 24 hour contamination or human nasal mucosa carriage. However, a few BRD pathogens are known to be transmissible to humans. Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) and Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) are closely related antigenically, but also contain some differences. Humans and cattle are the main hosts of RSV, and although the main transmission path of RSV is through nasal secretions, it can also be transmitted through the aerosols. On the other hand, there is little evidence to suggest that BRSV can be transmitted to humans. This is the same for HRSV. BRSV is a distinct virus from HRSV, and cattle are their natural host, not humans (Van der Poel et al., 1994; Makoschey & Berge, 2021). Although there is little evidence to suggest transmission to humans, there is still a slight risk, although a minor one when handling bacterial pathogens. The main risk comes from Tuberculosis (TB), which is a result of a small bacterium called Mycobacterium. There are many different types of Mycobacterium, but only two are transmissible between humans and cattle, which are M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. Both M. tuberculosis and M. bovis are treated with the same antibiotics, although not all M. bovis infections can lead to TB. In humans, symptoms of M. bovis are similar to those of M. tuberculosis. The primary route of transmission is through the exchange of respiratory secretions between infected and uninfected patients. People at greatest risk are individuals who spend extended time around cattle, individuals who come into contact with cattle bodily fluids or tissue, and people who consume unpasteurized dairy products (Lombard et al., 2021). Although we are not be using any of these pathogens in our project, the proper course of action if we come into contact with cattle would be to utilize proper hygiene such as handwashing, refraining from touching eyes or mucous membranes, etc. with unwashed hands, and refraining from coming into contact with cattle bodily fluids. Furthermore, our proof-of-concept does not use any animal pathogens. Instead we are utilizing BSL1 E. coli strains.

Dual-use Research of Concern

To address dual-use research of concern, the developed test kit would be sold specifically to the target user groups of veterinarians, farmers, and government professionals. However, the test kit could potentially be used by individuals to identify and obtain these pathogens from cattle for unlawful purposes. This is why proper safeguards and regulations on the use of this kit are essential.

Use of Pre-approved Tools, Procedures, and Methods

Pre-approved tools, procedures and methods would be used whenever possible. An excellent example is the use of deep nasopharyngeal swabs, which have been validated as a collection method for BRD testing. (Crosby et al., 2022). Through testing of the test’s speciality and sensitivity is important, as the potential for false positives could lead to undue alarm and unwarranted culling of animals.

Disposal of Used Material

Proper disposal of used material is critical for the success of our project. Nasal swabs used to collect samples could be covered in BRD causing bacteria. Another essential component is clear protocols for safe disposal of biohazardous waste from testing. Our goal is to make our kit as environmentally friendly as possible and we hope to recycle some components. Therefore, stringent decontamination methods will have to be put in place to ensure no pathogens are spread between sites. Proper training of farm staff on safe handling and disposal is also essential.

References

  1. Crosby, W. B., Pinnell, L. J., Richeson, J. T., Wolfe, C., Castle, J., Loy, J. D., Gow, S. P., Seok Seo, K., Capik, S. F., Woolums, A. R., & Morley, P. S. (2022). Does swab type matter? Comparing methods for Mannheimia haemolytica recovery and upper respiratory microbiome characterization in feedlot cattle. Animal Microbiome, 4.
  2. Lombard, J. E., Patton, E. A., Gibbons-Burgener, S. N., Klos, R. F., Tans-Kersten, J. L., Carlson, B. W., Keller, S. J., Pritschet, D. J., Rollo, S., Dutcher, T. V., Young, C. A., Hench, W. C., Thacker, T. C., Perea, C., Lehmkuhl, A. D., & Robbe-Austerman, S. (2021).
  3. Makoschey, B., & Berge, A. C. (2021). Review on bovine respiratory syncytial virus and bovine parainfluenza - usual suspects in bovine respiratory disease - a narrative review. BMC Veterinary Research, 17(1), 261.
  4. Oma, V. S., Klem, T., Traven, M., Alenius, S., Gjerset, B., Myrmel, M., & Stokstad, M. (2018). Temporary carriage of bovine coronavirus and bovine respiratory syncytial virus by fomites and human nasal mucosa after exposure to infected calves. BMC Veterinary Research, 14(1).
  5. Van der Poel, W. H., Brand, A., Kramps, J. A., & Van Oirschot, J. T. (1994). Respiratory syncytial virus infections in human beings and in cattle. The Journal of Infection, 29(2), 215-228.
  6. Human-to-Cattle Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Transmission in the United States. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 691192.