The revised arthropod containment guidelines

In 2003, just a few months after I became editor of Vector-; Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, we published the Arthropod; Containment Guidelines, likely our first of what would become; known as an Open Access publication. The concept to; produce the guidelines resulted from a discussion with staff; from the National Institutes of Health that had been involved; in supporting efforts to develop the capacity to genetically; engineer mosquitoes. What followed was more than a 2-year; effort by members of the American Committee for Medical; Entomology (ACME)—a subgroup of the American Society; of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). Drafts of the; document were widely circulated among researchers and; vector biologists, and revised several times until a consensus; document was finalized. The guidelines were rapidly embraced; by the international community as the ‘‘go-to’’ reference; document for those working with arthropod vectors in; laboratories, and administrators on committees that oversee; these facilities.