[Nhcoll-l] Inquiring about COVID and specimen quarantine

Wed Apr 15 16:02:43 EDT 2020

... maybe worth reiterating:

The AIBS-link Andy posted refers to fresh material or samples that are 
retrieved from non-fixed specimens potentially containing _active_ virus 
material. Import & export of fresh, non-fixed animal material has been 
monitored closely for long time and work with such material is strictly 
regulated not only under veterinarian law. Fresh material (e.g of bats) 
may be shipped under UN 3373 Biological Material category B, but such 
consignments usually are strongly regulated especially in international 
air transportation (cf. see WHO Guidelines 
https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/biosafety/WHO_CDS_EPR_2007_2.pdf 
and respective IATA / Carrier regulations such as FedEx, TNT, UPS, etc.).

Besides this, in our collections we can find _inactive_ virus material, 
which may be sequenced, but that does not necessarily poses a health 
risk as the recent finding of anthrax blood sample in our herbarium 
demonstrates: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/2/298. While nobody knows 
why and how this sample got into our Botany Collection, it is the oldest 
known sample of /Bacillus anthracis/ that has been isolated worldwide so 
far; even though the virus was no longer active, the full genome could 
be sequenced.

Similarly, /Yersinia pestis/ strains were isolated from medieval 
skeletons in our anthropology collections 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12154-0.

_Inactivated _virus material poses no health risk, but can be commonly 
encountered in our collections, e.g bird flue virus strains in 
ornithological collections. Such specimens surely are important (yet 
often unrecognised) specimens for science, even though the associated 
strains or residual microbes are not in our strict research focus. 
However, this underlines the importance of (our) collections and why it 
is wise maintaining them (see finding of > 60 year old  HIV samples 
literally "unearthed" from an abandoned collections of blood samples in 
a hospital in Kinshasa, DRC 
https://www.nature.com/news/2008/081001/full/news.2008.1143.html).

No additional bans or quarantine - but when shipped, you need to be able 
to demonstrate that the material poses no health risk and complies with 
"safe treatment", e.g. through proper description of the fixation 
methods in your shipping documents accompanying your parcel.

All the best
Dirk

Am 15.04.2020 um 17:19 schrieb Bentley, Andrew Charles:
>
> Beth
>
> I know that a lot of museums have been posting on NHCOLL-L that they 
> have suspended all loan traffic due to COVID-19.  Reliability of 
> delivery is obviously of major importance for valuable specimens and 
> this cannot be guaranteed at this plus most museums are closed and 
> there is no one to process loans.
>
> Also, I recently saw a message from USFWS urging restrictions on 
> esearch on bats to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19 TO US bats 
> and thereby spawning a new pandemic with a mutated form of 
> coronavirus. 
> https://www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports/2020_04_13.html#067329
>
> Andy
>
>      A :                A  :               A  :
>
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>
> V                   V                  V
>
> Andy Bentley
>
> Ichthyology Collection Manager
>
> University of Kansas
>
> Biodiversity Institute
>
> Dyche Hall
>
> 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
>
> Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
>
> USA
>
> Tel: (785) 864-3863
>
> Fax: (785) 864-5335
>
> Email: abentley at ku.edu <mailto:abentley at ku.edu>
>
> http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu 
> <http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/>
>
>      A :                A  :                A  :
>
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>
> V                   V                   V
>
> *From: *Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of 
> Elizabeth Merritt <emerritt at aam-us.org>
> *Date: *Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 7:28 AM
> *To: *"nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
> *Subject: *[Nhcoll-l] Inquiring about COVID and specimen quarantine
>
> Hello all,
>
> The Alliance is compiling a list of collections-related COVID issues, 
> and I hope you can help me add the issues relevant to  natural history 
> specimens. Has anyone been discussing the current or future impact of 
> COVID on shipment and intake of specimens?  E.g., bans on shipment of 
> some specimens (based on taxa, locality) as we learn more about what 
> species can be vectors for coronavirus; recommendations for quarantine 
> or treatment of some incoming specimens; need for research to inform 
> these decisions.
>
> Thank you for any information you can provide.
>
> Elizabeth
>
> Elizabeth Merritt
>
> Vice President, Strategic Foresight and
>
> Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums
>
> American Alliance of Museums
>
> 2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 1005
>
> Arlington, VA 22202
>
> (202)218-7661
>
>
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>
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-- 

Dirk Neumann

Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
neumann(a)snsb.de

Postanschrift:

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage
Münchhausenstr. 21
81247 München

Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/

---------

Dirk Neumann

Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
neumann(a)snsb.de

postal address:

Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich (Germany)

Visit our section at:
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/

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