Revisions to Select Agents Regulations: 
What It Means for the MSU Research Community

Regulatory Events in 2002

On June 12, 2002, President Bush signed the "Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act of 2002" which is intended to allow the U.S. to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism events and public health emergencies. Regulatory actions that have resulted from that law included:

• Expansion of the existing select agent list to include agents and toxins identified by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) as a serious threat to agriculture and livestock;
• Required institutional reporting of possession of all select agents in order to build a nationwide "inventory" of such materials;
• Development and implementation of 3 regulations which will require registration and security clearance by federal authorities for anyone who possesses, or plans to possess select agents.

Index of Select Agents Regulations
Index of Current Topics