The Australia Group

Fighting the spread of chemical and biological weapons. Strengthening global security.

List of Biological Agents for Export Control

March 2013

Core List[1]

Viruses

  1. Andes virus
  2. Chapare virus
  3. Chikungunya virus
  4. Choclo virus
  5. Congo-Crimean haemorrhagic fever virus
  6. Dengue fever virus
  7. Dobrava-Belgrade virus
  8. Eastern equine encephalitis virus
  9. Ebola virus
  10. Guanarito virus
  11. Hantaan virus
  12. Hendra virus (Equine morbillivirus)
  13. Japanese encephalitis virus
  14. Junin virus
  15. Kyasanur Forest virus
  16. Laguna Negra virus
  17. Lassa fever virus
  18. Louping ill virus
  19. Lujo virus
  20. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
  21. Machupo virus
  22. Marburg virus
  23. Monkey pox virus
  24. Murray Valley encephalitis virus
  25. Nipah virus
  26. Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus
  27. Oropouche virus
  28. Powassan virus
  29. Rift Valley fever virus
  30. Rocio virus
  31. Sabia virus
  32. Seoul virus
  33. Sin nombre virus
  34. St Louis encephalitis virus
  35. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (Russian Spring-Summer encephalitis virus)
  36. Variola virus
  37. Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus
  38. Western equine encephalitis virus
  39. Yellow fever virus

Bacteria

  1. Bacillus anthracis
  2. Brucella abortus
  3. Brucella melitensis
  4. Brucella suis
  5. Chlamydophila psittaci (formerly known as Chlamydia psittaci)
  6. Clostridium botulinum
  7. Clostridium argentinense (formerly known as Clostridium botulinum Type G), botulinum neurotoxin producing strains
  8. Clostridium baratii, botulinum neurotoxin producing strains
  9. Clostridium butyricum, botulinum neurotoxin producing strains
  10. Francisella tularensis
  11. Burkholderia mallei (Pseudomonas mallei)
  12. Burkholderia pseudomallei (Pseudomonas pseudomallei)
  13. Salmonella typhi
  14. Shigella dysenteriae
  15. Vibrio cholerae
  16. Yersinia pestis
  17. Clostridium perfringens, epsilon toxin producing types[2]
  18. Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of serogroups O26, O45, O103, O104, O111, O121, O145, O157, and other shiga toxin producing serogroups[3]
  19. Coxiella burnetii
  20. Rickettsia prowazekii

Toxins as follow and subunits thereof:[4]

  1. Botulinum toxins[5]
  2. Clostridium perfringens alpha, beta 1, beta 2, epsilon and iota toxins
  3. Conotoxin[5]
  4. Ricin
  5. Saxitoxin
  6. Shiga toxin
  7. Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins, hemolysin alpha toxin, and toxic shock syndrome toxin (formerly known as Staphylococcus enterotoxin F)
  8. Tetrodotoxin
  9. Verotoxin and shiga-like ribosome inactivating proteins
  10. Microcystin (Cyanginosin)
  11. Aflatoxins
  12. Abrin
  13. Cholera toxin
  14. Diacetoxyscirpenol toxin
  15. T-2 toxin
  16. HT-2 toxin
  17. Modeccin toxin
  18. Volkensin toxin
  19. Viscum Album Lectin 1 (Viscumin)

Fungi

  1. Coccidioides immitis
  2. Coccidioides posadasii

[1] Biological agents are controlled when they are an isolated live culture of a pathogen agent, or a preparation of a toxin agent which has been isolated or extracted from any source, or material including living material which has been deliberately inoculated or contaminated with the agent. Isolated live cultures of a pathogen agent include live cultures in dormant form or in dried preparations, whether the agent is natural, enhanced or modified.

An agent is covered by this list except when it is in the form of a vaccine. A vaccine is a medicinal product in a pharmaceutical formulation licensed by, or having marketing or clinical trial authorisation from, the regulatory authorities of either the country of manufacture or of use, which is intended to stimulate a protective immunological response in humans or animals in order to prevent disease in those to whom or to which it is administered.

[2] It is understood that limiting this control to epsilon toxin-producing strains of Clostridium perfringens therefore exempts from control the transfer of other Clostridium perfringens strains to be used as positive control cultures for food testing and quality control.

[3]Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is also known as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) or verocytotoxin producing E. coli (VTEC).

[4] Excluding immunotoxins.

[5] Excluding botulinum toxins and conotoxins in product form meeting all of the following criteria:

Genetic Elements and Genetically-modified Organisms:

  1. Genetic elements that contain nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the microorganisms in the list.
  2. Genetic elements that contain nucleic acid sequences coding for any of the toxins in the list, or for their sub-units.
  3. Genetically-modified organisms that contain nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the microorganisms in the list.
  4. Genetically-modified organisms that contain nucleic acid sequences coding for any of the toxins in the list or for their sub-units.

Technical note:

Genetically-modified organisms includes organisms in which the genetic material (nucleic acid sequences) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination, and encompasses those produced artificially in whole or in part.

Genetic elements include inter alia chromosomes, genomes, plasmids, transposons, and vectors whether genetically modified or unmodified, or chemically synthesized in whole or in part.

Nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the micro-organisms in the list means any sequence specific to the relevant listed micro-organism:

These controls do not apply to nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, serotype O157 and other verotoxin producing strains, other than those coding for the verotoxin, or for its sub-units.

Warning List[1]

Bacteria

  1. Clostridium tetani[2]
  2. Legionella pneumophila
  3. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
  4. Other strains of Clostridium species that produce botulinum neurotoxin[3]

Fungi

  1. Fusarium sporotrichioides
  2. Fusarium langsethiae

[1] Biological agents are controlled when they are an isolated live culture of a pathogen agent, or a preparation of a toxin agent which has been isolated or extracted from any source, or material including living material which has been deliberately inoculated or contaminated with the agent. Isolated live cultures of a pathogen agent include live cultures in dormant form or in dried preparations, whether the agent is natural, enhanced or modified.

An agent is covered by this list except when it is in the form of a vaccine. A vaccine is a medicinal product in a pharmaceutical formulation licensed by, or having marketing or clinical trial authorisation from, the regulatory authorities of either the country of manufacture or of use, which is intended to stimulate a protective immunological response in humans or animals in order to prevent disease in those to whom or to which it is administered.

[2]The Australia Group recognises that this organism is ubiquitous, but, as it has been acquired in the past as part of biological warfare programs, it is worthy of special caution.

[3]It is the intent of Australia Group members to add to the control list strains of species of Clostridium identified as producing botulinum neurotoxin.

Genetic Elements and Genetically-modified Organisms:

  1. Genetic elements that contain nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the microorganisms in the list.
  2. Genetic elements that contain nucleic acid sequences coding for any of the toxins in the list, or for their sub-units.
  3. Genetically-modified organisms that contain nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the microorganisms in the list.
  4. Genetically-modified organisms that contain nucleic acid sequences coding for any of the toxins in the list or for their sub-units.

Technical note:

Genetically-modified organisms includes organisms in which the genetic material (nucleic acid sequences) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination, and encompasses those produced artificially in whole or in part.

Genetic elements include inter alia chromosomes, genomes, plasmids, transposons, and vectors whether genetically modified or unmodified, or chemically synthesized in whole or in part.

Nucleic acid sequences associated with the pathogenicity of any of the micro-organisms in the list means any sequence specific to the relevant listed micro-organism: