Biohazard is a shorthand term for "biological hazard". It refers to biological substances that pose a threat to (primarily) human beings. This can include medical waste, samples of
a virus or bacterium that can affect
humans, and so forth. It is generally used as a warning, so that those potentially exposed to the substances will know to take
precautions.
In Unicode, the biohazard sign is U+2623 (☣).
Levels of Biohazard
The United States' CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) categorizes various diseases in
levels of biohazard; Level 1 being minimum risk and Level 4 being extreme risk.
Biohazard Level 1: Bacillus subtilis, canine hepatitis, E. coli, varicella (chicken pox).
Biohazard Level 2: Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, salmonella, scrapie
Biohazard Level 3: anthrax, typhus, HIV, SARS, tuberculosis, BSE, Smallpox, Yellow Fever, Mumps,
Biohazard Level 4: Ebola, lassavirus, hantavirus, Bolivian Fever, Dengue Fever and other various hemorrhagic diseases (mostly of African decent).
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