Restored provisions on medical-diagnostic examinations and infectious disease laboratory safety
Austria has restored and modernized key sections of a 1948 health regulation governing who may perform medical tests and laboratory work with disease agents. Laboratories must now follow strict safety rules, and staff require clearance and mandatory health checks.
What changed
The regulation restores full text to sections that had been formally repealed, bringing back requirements for licensing of commercial medical diagnostic services, safety protocols in bacteriology labs, mandatory vaccinations for lab staff, and disease reporting. Penalties for violations have been updated from Austrian Schilling to Euro amounts (€290 or €29 depending on the offense).
Who is affected
Medical doctors performing diagnostic tests, laboratory directors and staff working with disease agents, health authorities (Gesundheitsamt) issuing permits and safety orders, and institutions such as hospitals and research facilities that conduct microbiological examinations.
Key requirements for laboratories
Laboratory staff must report all illnesses immediately to management and isolate until diagnosis is confirmed. Lab leaders must verify the nature of illness through medical examination and report suspected infectious disease to health authorities. Anyone working with dangerous pathogens (cholera, plague, rabies, etc.) must be isolated immediately if infection is suspected, and all quarantine measures must begin pending health-authority direction.
What to look out for
Labs conducting commercial diagnostic work now need explicit permission from the health ministry, verified by the Chief Medical Officer. Staff working with infectious agents are subject to mandatory vaccinations ordered by local health authorities. Violations can result in fines up to €290 or arrest up to four weeks for serious breaches, or up to €29 or 14 days for other violations.