The biosafety containment level appropriate for agents with moderate potential hazard is which level?

The correct answer is biosafety level 2, which is designed for work involving agents that pose a moderate potential hazard to humans and the environment. At this level, the risk of transmission and infection is more significant than at biosafety level 1, which is suitable for agents that are not known to cause disease in healthy adults.

Biosafety level 2 requires specific practices and safeguards to prevent exposure, including the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves and lab coats, and ensuring that work surfaces are decontaminated. It is important for environments where materials may cause infection through ingestion, inhalation, or contact with broken skin, highlighting the need for enhanced safety measures.

The other levels, biosafety levels 3 and 4, deal with higher-risk pathogens that can cause serious or potentially lethal diseases through inhalation (level 3) or those that are even more dangerous and require the most stringent controls (level 4). Therefore, they are not appropriate for agents with only moderate hazards.