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Agents & Toxins

What Agents are subject to the Policy?

Category 1 List of Agents and Toxins (USG DURC-PEPP, 2024)*

  • Abrin
  • Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis
  • Botulinum neurotoxins
  • Botulinum neurotoxin producing species of Clostridium
  • Conotoxins (Short, paralytic alpha conotoxins containing the following amino acid sequence X1CCX2PACGX3X4X5X6CX7)
  • Coxiella burnetii
  • Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus
  • Diacetozyscirpenol
  • Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus
  • Ebola virus
  • Francisella tularensis
  • Lassa fever virus
  • Lujo virus
  • Marburg virus
  • Mpox virus 
  • Reconstructed replication competent forms of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus containing any portion of the coding regions of all eight gene segments (Reconstructed 1918 Influenza virus) 
  • Ricin
  • Rickettsia prowazekii
  • SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)
  • SARS-CoV/SARS-CoV-2 chimeric viruses resulting from any deliberate manipulation of SARS-CoV-2 to incorporate nucleic acids coding for SARS-CoV virulence factors 
  • Saxitoxin 

  • Bacillus anthracis
  • Bacillus anthracis Pasteur strain
  • Burkholderia mallei
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei
  • Hendra virus
  • Nipah virus
  • Rift Valley fever virus
  • Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus

  • Coniothyrium glycines (formerly Phobia glycinicola and Pyrenochaeta glycines)
  • Ralstonia solanacearum
  • Rathayibacter toxicus
  • Schlerophthora rayssiae
  • Synchtrium endobioticum
  • Xanthomonas oryzae 

*The USG DURC-PEPP policy goes into effect on May 6, 2025.

  • Chapare
  • Guanarito
  • Junín
  • Machupo
  • Sabia
  • Staphylococcal enterotoxins (subtypes A, B, C, D, E)
  • T-2 toxin
  • Tetrodotoxin

  • Far Eastern subtype
  • Siberian subtype
  • Kyasanur Forest disease virus
  • Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus
  • Various major virus (Smallpox virus)
  • Variola minor virus (Alastrim)
  • Yersinia pestis 

  • African swine fever virus
  • Avian influenze virus
  • Classical swine fever virus
  • Foot-and-mouth disease virus
  • Goat pox virus
  • Lumpy skin disease virus
  • Mycoplasma capricolum
  • Mycoplasma mycoides
  • Newcastle disease virus
  • Peste des pestis ruminants virus
  • Rinderpest virus
  • Sheep pox virus
  • Swine vesicular disease virus

Experiments Subject to the USG DURC-PEPP Policy

Category 1 Experiments (Section 4.1.2 of the USG DURC-PEPP Policy)

Research within the scope of Category 1 are those experimental outcomes with a biological agent or toxin outlined in the USG DURC-PEPP Policy that are reasonably anticipated to:

  • Increase transmissibility of a pathogen within or between host species;
  • Increase the virulence of a pathogen or convey virulence to a non-pathogen;
  • Increase the stability of a pathogen or toxin in the environment, or increase the ability to disseminate a pathogen or toxin;
  • Alter the host range or tropism of a pathogen or toxin;
  • Decrease the ability for a human or veterinary pathogen or toxin to be detected using standard diagnostic or analytical methods;
  • Increase resistance of a pathogen or toxin to clinical and/or veterinary prophylactic or therapeutic interventions;
  • Alter a human or veterinary pathogen or toxin to disrupt the effectiveness of preexisting immunity, via immunization or natural infection, against the pathogen or toxin; or
  • Enhance the susceptibility of a host population to a pathogen or toxin.

Category 2 Experiments

Research within the scope of Category 2 are those experimental outcomes or actions with a pathogen outlined in the USG DURC-PEPP Policy that are reasonably anticipated to:

  • Enhance transmissibility of the pathogen in humans;
  • Enhance the virulence of the pathogen in humans; 
  • Enhance the immune evasion of the pathogen in humans such as by modifying the pathogen to disrupt the effectiveness of pre-existing immunity via immunization or natural infection;
  • Generate, use, reconstitute, or transfer an eradicated or extinct PPP, or a previously identified PEPP.

Contact Us

Office of Research Integrity

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