• Holding
  
  
• Services
  
  
• Price list
  
  
• Research interests
  
  
• Publications
  
  
• Quality management
  
  
• Further information & contact

Holding

Services

• Deposit of strains
  
  Before sending strains, it is advisable to contact BCCM/IHEM to make sure that the material to be deposited is within its scope and technical capability.
  
  
  • Public access
    
    BCCM-IHEM accepts all fungi infectious for man and animal including species classified in risk group 3. Upon deposit, the depositor must complete the corresponding BCCM/IHEM Public deposit Accession Form. Deposits of strains for public access are without costs for the depositor. A confirmation of deposit can be issued.
    
    
  • Safe deposit
    
    Before sending strains, it is advisable to contact BCCM/IHEM to make sure that the material to be deposited is within its scope and technical capabilities.
    Upon deposit, the depositor must complete the corresponding BCCM/IHEM Contract Form. Two options are possible: either the material is deposited for an undefined period (that can be terminated by the depositor each year up to one month before a next year starts), or the material is deposited for a predefined period (that can be extended), see the BCCM/IHEM Extension/Termination Form. In the latter case, an attestation of deposit can be issued.
    For related costs see pricelist.
    
    
  • Patent deposit
    
    Upon deposit, the depositor must complete the international Accession Form BCCM/IHEM/BP/1 as well as the bilateral contract Form BCCM/IHEM/DBT/1.
    
    The complete procedure is described in the manual for the deposit of Biological Material for Patent Purposes under the Budapest Treaty. For related costs see pricelist.
    
    
• Distribution of biological material
  
  Strains of the public collection are accessible to the scientific community under the conditions of the BCCM Material Transfer Agreement (MTA). For related costs see pricelist. Strains of interest can be identified with the help of the BCCM/IHEM catalogue. Contact BCCM-IHEM to obtain assistance for the choice of strains that best fit with the purpose of your projects. All informations provided by the clients will be treated strictly confidential.
  
  
  • Cultures: Strains are routinely distributed as actively growing cultures on agar slants or in lyophylised form.
    
    
  • Purified DNA: DNA samples of IHEM strains can be prepared and distributed on request.
    
    
  Strains of the safe deposit collection are not catalogued and are only available to the depositor or to third parties with the written authorization of the depositor. For related costs see pricelist.
  
  The distribution of samples of strains deposited under the Budapest Treaty for patent purposes depends on the authorization by the depositor or an entitled Industrial Property Office. Strains are not catalogued.
  For related costs see pricelist.
  
  

Accession, control, preservation, storage and supply of the biological material are ISO 9001/2008 certified.

• Isolation and identification of filamentous fungi and yeasts
  
  BCCM/IHEM can isolate filamentous fungi and yeasts form a wide variety of substrates of clinical and environmental origin.
  Living cultures can also be submitted for identification. The default identification is based on macroscopical and microscopical examination of morphology and physiological testing. Analysis of DNA sequences of taxonomic relevance is performed with the agreement of the client about extra-cost. For related costs see price list.
  
  
• Antifungal susceptibility testing
  
  Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of the antifungal agents voriconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B are determined by an adapted NCCLS M27-A broth microdilution method.
  For related costs see price list.
  
  
• Services provided by the host laboratory
  
  The laboratory of Mycology at the Scientific Institute of Public Health is conducting surveys/monitoring/intervention studies of microbial pollution in indoor environments. A special attention is accorded to the fungal flora. More information is available at http://www.indoorpol.be

Research interests

Research and service activities of the host lab (Mycology Section of the Scientific Institute of Public Health) have been developed in collaboration with the BCCM/IHEM collection and include:

• morphology, taxonomy and nomenclature of filamentous fungi and yeasts;
  
  
• study of outdoor and indoor airborne fungal flora;
  
  
• ecology of fungi in the human environment, particularly in relation to human health;
  
  
• bioaudit in dwellings in the context of toxic or allergic pathologies, monitoring of fungal contamination in working environments;
  
  
• control in hospital environments for prevention of nosocomial mycoses;
  
  
• screening of fungal strains for drug susceptibility;
  
  
• screening of fungal strains for new molecules of economic interest;
  
  
• protein fingerprinting and enzymatic activities;
  
  
• immunochemical studies of antigenicity and allergenicity of fungal strains;
  
  
• typing of fungal pathogens by DNA fingerprinting;
  
  
• phylogenetic studies of filamentous fungi and yeasts by DNA sequencing;
  
  
• normalisation of the certification, distribution and use of fungal test, control or bioassay strains.
  
  

Quality management

The Scientific Institute of Public Health has the competence to perform the tests mentioned in the Beltest certificate Nr. 109-T according to the NBN EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard. Two accredited assays of the BCCM/IHEM collection are involved in this certificate. The following scope is actually covered:

Test code	Samples	Measured property	Description of method
14/F/3/14	Cultures of fungi	Control of viability, identity and purity	Macro- and microscopy
14/F/3/39	Culture of fungi and yeast	Control of bacterial purity	Macro- and microscopy

More information is available at http://belac.fgov.be.

In a near future, the BCCM/IHEM collection wishes to obtain an accreditation of reference materials producers in agreement with the criteria of the NBN EN ISO/CEI 17025 standard and the guide ISO 34.