PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
Enhancing Biosafety
Internationally: APHL Convenes
Biorisk Assessment Training in Ghana
by Michael Marsico, MS, senior specialist, Biosafety and Biosecurity and
Shannon Emery MSPH, manager, Global Health
In Ghana, APHL collaborates with
the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), the National
Public Health Reference Laboratory
(NPHRL) and other partners to provide
technical assistance to strengthen
laboratory capabilities and capacities for
microbiology diagnostic services within
the country’s public health laboratories.
APHL, supported by funding through the
Global Health Security Agenda and CDC,
convened the Biorisk Assessment Training
in Accra, Ghana, May 6-9, 2019. Eighteen
biosafety officers from a variety of
laboratories attended the training to
increase their knowledge of risk
assessments and how to apply them to
routine laboratory practices.
The four-day training included didactic
and hands on exercises. Biosafety and
Biosecurity Committee member Michael
Perry, New York State Department of
Health-Wadsworth Center, served as
an instructor along with APHL staff
Shannon Emery and Kwame Asante. The
training covered the three components of
the “AMP” model; Assessment, Mitigation
and Performance. In groups,
participants practiced and presented
on risk assessments, performed proper
donning and doffing of laboratory coats,
hand washing and appropriate technique
for working in a biosafety cabinet.
Participants received the reference book
Laboratory Biorisk Management, Biosafety and
Biosecurity and a USB drive containing:
• All PowerPoint presentations
• Exercises completed during the training
• Examples of risk assessment templates
from public health laboratories for
adaptation
• A risk assessment job aid
• List of participants and facilitators for
continued networking
Participants agreed that the information
presented at the training would help
them to build their laboratory’s biosafety
practices and, specifically, would assist
them to teach colleagues about value of
risk assessments and how to perform
them. APHL will use this curriculum as
a model for similar trainings in other
countries. n
Rolling Briefing, Maryland
Lab Tour Engage Hill Staff
by Peter Kyriacopoulos, senior director, Public Policy
With tremendous support from Robert A.
Myers, PhD, director, Maryland Department
of Health Laboratories Administration, APHL
organized a briefing trip for senior Capitol Hill
staff to Dr. Myers’ laboratory on July 29. In
addition to the legislative staff, representatives
from the Department of Health and Human
Services and the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) participated in
the event.
The day began at APHL HQ, where the group
boarded a bus set up as a mobile conference
room with a flat panel screen to display
PowerPoint presentations. During the ride to
the laboratory in Baltimore, the participants
were engaged in an “APHL 101” briefing about
the association, covering the wide variety of
members and their interaction with federal
partners. A briefing on the APHL Informatics
Messaging Services (AIMS) platform and the
importance of improving the movement of all
public health data followed. The discussion
between participants was so engaging that the
20-minute standstill caused by an accident on
I-95 went practically unnoticed.
These briefings provided a useful foundation
that dovetailed perfectly with the tour of
the Maryland laboratory by Dr. Myers, who
provided the group with demonstrable
evidence of the concepts that had been
presented during the ride. Dr. Myers explained
the function of laboratory divisions and
detailed the importance of federal support for
laboratory activities.
The enthusiasm for the knowledge absorbed
throughout the day and the expression of
interest in additional laboratory tours were
perhaps the best indications of a successful
event. APHL is working with CDC to determine
how to best accomplish the next trips and will
report on them in the near future. APHL thanks
Dr. Myers for his invaluable assistance in
delivering a top-notch experience. n
above: Laboratorians from across Ghana participated in
the training
top right: Instructor Michael Perry facilities a discussion
surrounding working in a BSC
bottom right: Attendees discuss best practices as a group
during the training
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org
Fall 2019 LAB MATTERS
33