A Guide for Shippers of Infectious Substances 2015

Every day, infectious substances are shipped around the world by air, road, rail, and sea.
Some of these infectious substances are very hazardous, and direct exposure to them should be avoided.

Anytime infectious substances are being shipped, it is the responsibility of the shipper to minimize these risks through proper packaging and documentation. This Guide for Shippers of Infectious Substances was originally developed in 2009 to assist shippers with classifying, documenting, marking, labelling, and packaging infectious substances.

The revised version of 2015 also addresses the refrigeration of infectious substances with ice pads, dry ice and using dry shippers.

It is important that we work together to ensure shipments meet all local and international transport and customs requirements established for the shipment of infectious substances.

Failure to do so could lead to delays in shipment and unnecessary exposures.

WHO 2015