HANDLING SMALL ARBOVIRUS VECTORS SAFELY DURING BIOSAFETY LEVEL 3 CONTAINMENT - CULICOIDES-VARIIPENNIS SONORENSIS (DIPTERA, CERATOPOGONIDAE)AND EXOTIC BLUETONGUE VIRUSES

Equipment and procedures are described for biosafety level 3 (BL-3) co ntainment work with small, zoophilic arthropods. BL-3 classified patho gens always must be manipulated in biological safety cabinets. Procedu res, including physical barriers and handling methods, that prevent th e escape of potentially virus-infected insects are discussed, and the use of a monitoring system for insect security is explained. The inabi lity to recover escaped minute, flying insects poses a major differenc e from similar work with larger insects, such as mosquitoes. Methods w ere developed for the safe and secure handling of Culicoides variipenn is sonorensis Wirth & Jones infected with exotic bluetongue viruses du ring BL-3 containment.