Article: Select agent

In the United States, select agents are pathogens or biological toxins which have been declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety". The Centers for Disease Control administers the Select Agent Program, which regulates the laboratories which may possess, use, or transfer select agents within the United States. The select Agent Program was established to fulfill requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, which were enacted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent 2001 anthrax attacks.