International Shipping:
Infectious Substance, Category A and
Biological Substance, Category B

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and IATA classify Dangerous Goods. There are two categories of Infectious Substances: Category A and Category B.

Category A

Category A is defined as an infectious substance which is transported in a form that when exposure to it occurs, is capable of causing permanent disability, life-threatening or fatal disease to humans or animals. Indicative examples of substances that meet Category A criteria are:

• Bacillus anthracis (cultures only)
• Brucella abortus (cultures only)
• Brucella melitensis (cultures only)
• Brucella suis (cultures only)
• Burkholderia mallei - Pseudomonas mallei - Glanders (cultures only)
• Burkholderia pseudomalli -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
• Hantaviruses causing hantavirus pulmonary 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
• Monkeypox virus
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (cultures only)
• Nipah virus
• Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus
• Poliovirus (cultures only)
• Rabies virus
• Rickettsia prowazekii (cultures only)
• Rickettsia rickettsii (cultures only)
• Rift Valley fever virus
• Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus (cultures only)
• Sabia virus
• Shigella dyseteriae type 1 (cultures only)
• Tick-borne encephalitis virus (cultures only)
• Variola virus
• Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus
• West Nile virus (cultures only)
• Yellow fever virus (cultures only)

Specimens that fall under Category A must be sent in a certified container. You must use Mayo Medical Laboratories’ white shipping box (T570), along with an inner container provided by Mayo Medical Laboratories (Large Infectious Mailer T146), or purchase a container certified to carry infectious substances. A box containing a Category A substance must also have affixed to it a class 6 hazard label as well as a Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods.

Category B

Specimens that fall under Category B include most blood, tissue, and urine samples containing common microbiology organisms that are considered Diagnostic Specimens (Category B). Category B specimens have been assigned a UN number, UN3373. A diamond-shaped UN3373 label and the words Biological Substance, Category B must be placed on the outside of the box containing Diagnostic Specimens (Category B). Certified containers and a Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods are not required.

Infectious Substance Container

Infectious substances must be shipped in certified containers. Mayo provides clients with a large infectious container for frozen, refrigerate, or ambient specimens. The infectious substance container shown below is placed into a Mayo Medical Laboratories shipping bag by our clients.

The client places the specimen in a primary receptacle (such as a tube or a vial) and puts the primary receptacle into a certified container. This is the Large Infectious Mailer (T146):

The container is placed in a Mayo Medical Laboratories color-coded bag. The client writes the name of the infectious substance on an orange label (see picture below) and puts it on the bag. The label includes the information needed to fill out the paperwork and mark the box.

Sent Infectious Label

• Place this label on the outside of the colorcoded bag if the specimen is infectious.
• Write the name of the infectious agent on the label to fill out your shipper’s declaration and mark the box correctly.

Box Example

This is the Mayo Medical Laboratories’ white shipping box (T570):

Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods Example