PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
Scientists and First Responders:
Partnerships for Preparedness and Response
By Samuel Abrams, MPH, specialist, Public Health Preparedness and Response
Beyond their realm of culture plates and
microscopes, public health laboratories
(PHLs) serve with federal, state and local
first responder partners to respond to
threats in their communities. These first
responders include police, firefighters,
hazardous material teams, FBI Weapons
of Mass Destruction Coordinators and
National Guard Bureau Civil Support
Teams, and they are often the first to
enter harm’s way or encounter suspicious
and potentially dangerous substances.
To ensure the safety of all involved,
the APHL Public Health Preparedness
Committee (PHPR) works with laboratory
professionals to develop guidance aimed
at enhancing and maintaining vital
relationships with first responders.
For example, APHL has promoted the need
for a quality assurance program for kits
and devices used in the field to screen
for hazardous biological and chemical
warfare agents. Such a program would
encompass performance verification, field
validation, proficiency testing, training
and annual competency assessment in
the application of kits and devices. Its
goal would be simple: ensure that devices
have a measurable standard to make
certain that they provide consistently
reliable results, and that personnel are
properly trained on how to safely use
them. In doing so, first responders would
be protected from potentially dangerous
samples and be able to maintain sample
integrity during transport to the PHL for
confirmatory analysis. APHL is partnering
with the National Institute of Standards
and Technology and the US Department
of Homeland Security to conduct an
inter-laboratory study to evaluate yeast
cell material as a surrogate powder for
field biological sampling and assessment.
18
LAB MATTERS Fall 2018
APHL has promoted the need for a quality assurance program for kits and
devices used in the field to screen for hazardous biological and chemical
warfare agents.
External partners are actively involved
in similar efforts. One example is the
Stakeholder Panel on Agent Detection
Assays (SPADA), a group funded by DHS
and managed by AOAC International.
Supported by DHS and other partners,
SPADA efforts led to the development of
a framework that describes standards
for how public health and first responder
groups can coalesce to achieve the
common goal of protecting the public
through preparedness and response
initiatives. The framework establishes
standards for training, proficiency
testing, sampling and handling, assays
and specific procedures. Through the
years, APHL has supported the endeavors
undertaken by SPADA, working closely
with professionals on the panel to
promote the interests of PHLs.
APHL has developed its own framework
checklist for PHL outreach to first
responder communities. This valuable
resource aids laboratories to identify
key stakeholders in the first responder
community and to provide sample
handling methods and training programs.
It encourages laboratories to facilitate
open communication with their first
responders so that all parties will know
who to contact when faced with a
potential threat. In doing so, personnel
will remain protected and dangerous
situations will be resolved faster. n
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org