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Specimen classification flowchart | List of Category A substances
Specimen classification flowchart
Use the specimen classification flowchart below to determine if your clinical specimen is Category A, Category B, or exempt. This is step 1 of packing and transporting clinical samples to the State Lab. The list of Category A substances is found in the next section below.
Category A infectious substances
Category A infectious substances are capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or deadly disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals. An exposure occurs when this infectious substance is released outside of its protective packaging, resulting in physical contact with humans or animals. A Category A infectious substance must be assigned to identification number UN2814, UN2900, or UN3549, as appropriate. Assignment to UN2814, UN2900, or UN3549 must be based on the known medical history or symptoms of the source patient or animal, endemic local conditions, or professional judgment concerning the individual circumstances of the source human or animal (49 CFR 173.134(a)(1)(i)).
The following list is not exhaustive of Category A infectious substances.
| If you are packing and transporting Category A infectious substances, email cdphe_labcoordinators@state.co.us for further guidance. |
UN2814 Infectious substance, affecting humans
- Bacillus anthracis (cultures only)
- Brucella abortus (cultures only)
- Brucella melitensis (cultures only)
- Brucella suis (cultures only)
- Burkholderia mallei – Pseudomonas mallei – Glanders (cultures only)
- Burkholderia pseudomallei – Pseudomonas pseudomallei (cultures only)
- Chlamydia psittaci – avian strains (cultures only)
- Clostridium botulinum (cultures only)
- Coccidioides immitis (cultures only)
- Coxiella burnetii (cultures only)
- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
- Dengue virus (cultures only)
- Eastern equine encephalitis virus (cultures only)
- Escherichia coli, verotoxigenic (cultures only)
- Ebola virus
- Flexal virus
- Francisella tularensis (cultures only)
- Guanarito virus
- Hantaan virus
- Hantavirus causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome
- Hendra virus
- Hepatitis B virus (cultures only)
- Herpes B virus (cultures only)
- Human immunodeficiency virus (cultures only)
- Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (cultures only)
- Japanese Encephalitis virus (cultures only)
- Junin virus
- Kyasanur Forest disease virus
- Lassa virus
- Machupo virus
- Marburg virus
- Mpox virus*
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis (cultures only)
- Nipah virus
- Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus
- Poliovirus (cultures only)
- Rabies and other lyssaviruses (cultures only)
- Rickettsia prowazekii (cultures only)
- Rickettsiae rickettsii (cultures only)
- Rift Valley fever virus (cultures only)
- Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus (cultures only)
- Sabia virus
- Shigella dysenteriae type 1 (cultures only)
- Tick-borne encephalitis virus (cultures only)
- Variola virus
- Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (cultures only)
- West Nile virus (cultures only)
- Yellow fever virus (cultures only)
- Yersinia pestis (cultures only)
UN 2900 Infectious substances, affecting animals only
- African swine fever virus (cultures only)
- Avian paramyxovirus Type 1 – Velogenic Newcastle disease virus (cultures only)
- Classical swine fever virus (cultures only)
- Foot and mouth disease virus (cultures only)
- Lumpy skin disease virus (cultures only)
- Mycoplasma mycoides – Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (cultures only)
- Peste de petits ruminants virus (cultures only)
- Rinderpest virus (cultures only)
- Sheep-pox virus (cultures only)
- Goatpox virus (cultures only)
- Swine vesicular disease virus (cultures only)
- Vesicular stomatitis virus (cultures only)
Source: DOT - Category A Infectious Substance Indicative List