Select Agents And Toxins
What is a ‘select agent’?
Select agents and toxins are a subset of biological agents and toxins that the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) have determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety, to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products.
View the current list of select agents and toxins.
The select agent regulations can be found at 42 CFR Part 73, 9 CFR Part 121, and 7 CFR Part 331. The select agent regulations implement the Subtitle A and Subtitle B (also known as the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002) of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, setting forth the requirements for the possession, use, and transfer of select agents and toxins.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Select Agents and Toxins and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Agriculture Select Agent Services jointly constitute the Federal Select Agent Program.
Registration with and approval from the Federal Select Agent Program is required prior to the possession, transfer, or use of any select agents. The Texas A&M University Responsible Official must approve all possession or use of select agents and toxins, including excluded strains of select agents and permissible quantities of select toxins.