Select agent

Under United States law, "Biological Select Agents or Toxins" (BSATs) — or simply Select Agents for short — are bio-agents which since 1997 have been declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety". The agents are divided into (1) HHS select agents and toxins affecting humans; (2) USDA select agents and toxins affecting agriculture; and (3) Overlap select agents and toxins affecting both.