Life’s easy when you know for sure …
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition is clear and decisive when you know for sure that your shipment contains pathogens.
In other words, if your shipment does contain pathogens, you don’t have a choice and you’ll evidently choose Classification Category A or B.
For your immediate reference, we’ve created a printable infographic. Click this link to open and download WHO 6.2 Infectious Biologicals Classification | Infographic.
And if you did not get to read our introductionary article about shipping biological substances, please check it out here Shipping infectious biological substances – Are you reckless or overcautious? (1/3)?
The « Boy who cried wolf » syndrome …
Unfortunately, many shipments are over-classified.
Consistently declaring biological materials as infectious when they are not, has at least two negative consequences:
- By continuously overstating your case, you decrease vigilence and, therefore, make shipping less safe than it could be.
- You inflate your company’s cost and induce longer delivery delays.
In fact, did you know that it is against the regulations to misclassify commodities, even as a precaution?
So, what IS the best way to classify? Let us take you for a quick tour.
