Biocontainment

[2][3] Merriam-Webster's online dictionary reports the first use of the term in 1966, defined as "the containment of extremely pathogenic organisms (such as viruses) usually by isolation in secure facilities to prevent their accidental release especially during research".

Secondary containment is the protection of the environment external to the laboratory from exposure to infectious materials and is provided by a combination of facility design and operational practices.

Biological safety cabinets (BSC), first commercially available in 1950,[7] are fairly common devices designed to provide effective primary biocontainment in laboratories working with highly infectious agents.

In agricultural facilities, the definition for “biocontainment” resembles that for “biosafety,” i.e., the safety practices and procedures used to prevent unintended infection of plants or animals or the release of high-consequence pathogenic agents into the environment (air, soil, or water).

The BMBL is an advisory document providing national recommendations for Biosafety Levels, Containment, Decontamination and Disinfection, Transportation, and Disposal of biohazardous agents.

Researchers working in Class III cabinets at the U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories , Camp Detrick , Maryland (1940s). Biocontainment procedures were pioneered at the USBWL in the 1940s and '50s.
The Aeromedical Isolation Team (AIT) of the U.S. Army operated mobile biocontainment equipment designed for patient care and transport from 1978 to 2010. (Photo by Bruce Maston, 2007)