APHL 2022 POSTER ABSTRACTS
Biosafety / COVID-19
BIOSAFETY
ISO 35001:2019 -- Is Biorisk Management Important to your Organization ?
M Downing 1 , M Marsico 2 ; 1 ABSA International ( American Biological Safety Association ), 2 Association of Public Health Laboratories
Post-COVID-19 , the importance of a comprehensive biorisk management program should be obvious to all public health and clinical laboratories . The International Organization for Standardization ( ISO ), the world ’ s largest developer of voluntary international standards , introduced ISO 3500 : 2019 ( Biorisk Management for Laboratories and Other Related Organizations ) prior to the pandemic . It is the first international standard that defines the requirements of a biorisk management system for laboratories that handle biological agents ; it is also intended to complement other ISO standards for laboratories , including quality management systems and IS0 15190 ( Medical laboratories — Requirements for safety ). This poster will cover features of the standard , the benefits of ISO certification , continuous improvement and management engagement .
Presenter : Michael Marsico , Association of Public Health Laboratories , michael . marsico @ aphl . org
Building Biosafety Partnerships with Non-Traditional Testing Sites during COVID-19 and Beyond
M Marsico 1 , J Baron 2 ; 1 Association of Public Health Laboratories ,
2
Science and Safety Consulting
Coronavirus disease ( COVID-19 ) impacted almost every sector , including schools and nursing homes , with many locations opting to adopt waived tests to ensure the safety if its specific population .
Since a traditional laboratory setting is not required to conduct POC tests , non-traditional test providers typically lack the laboratory experience to successfully and safely perform tests . The staff performing these tests may not be able to conduct specific risk assessments to identify the appropriate biosafety mitigation measures to protect themselves from potential exposures along with the training to correctly package and ship infectious materials . In many instances , these non-traditional sites rely on public health laboratories for guidance and support , especially as it pertains to biosafety and testing .
This poster will discuss how APHL , CDC and public health laboratorians have successfully provided outreach , including biosafety training and other resources to non-traditional laboratory sites during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Presenter : Julianne Baron , Science and Safety Consulting , julianne @ scienceandsafetyconsulting . com
Building Scientific Capability and Reducing Biological Threats : The Effect of Three Cooperative Bio-Research Programs in Kazakhstan
K Yeh 1 , K Tabynov 2 , F Parekh 3 , E Maltseva 4 , Y Skiba 4 , Z Shapiyeva 5 , A Sansyzbai 6 , S Frey 7 , S Essbauer 8 , R Hewson 9 , A Richards 10 , J Hay 11 ; 1 MRIGlobal , 2 NSCEDI , 3 EpiPointe , 4 NCB , 5 SPCSEEM , 6 Kazakh National Agrarian University , 7 Bundeswehr Research Institute for Protective Technologies and Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear ( CBRN ) Protection , 8 Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology ,
9
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , 10 Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , 11 Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science
Cooperative research programs aimed at reducing biological threats have increased scientific capabilities and capacities in Kazakhstan . The German Federal Foreign Office ’ s German Biosecurity Programme , the United Kingdom ’ s International Biological Security Programme and the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency ’ s Biological Threat Reduction Program provide funding for partner countries , like Kazakhstan . The mutual goals of the programs are to reduce biological threats and enhance global health security . Our investigation examined these cooperative research programs , summarizing major impacts they have made , as well as common successes and challenges . By mapping various projects across the three programs , research networks are highlighted which demonstrate best communication practices to share results and reinforce conclusions . Our team performed a survey to collect results from Kazakhstani partner scientists on their experiences that help gain insights into enhancing day-to-day approaches to conducting cooperative scientific research . This analysis will serve as a basis for a capability maturity model as used in industry and , in addition , builds synergy for future collaborations that will be essential for quality and sustainment .
Presenter : Falgunee Parekh , MRIGlobal , fparekh @ epipointe . com
COVID-19
Genomic Surveillance to Monitor and Identify Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants in University Populations in Milwaukee , Wisconsin
A Bauer , M Khubbar , S Scott , J Lentz , J Weiner , K Akinyemi , A Skillman , N . Balakrishnan and S Bhattacharyya , City of Milwaukee Health Department
Introduction : Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory ( MHDL ) has been partnering with two local universities ’ student health clinics since March 2020 to provide testing and surveillance of the student and staff populations for SARS-CoV-2 . In-person learning , on-campus housing and sporting events create the potential for rapid transmission of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 . Due to the national and international populations on these campuses and their locations in downtown Milwaukee , there were concerns with the spreading of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants . MHDL began sequencing specimens from these two universities to identify variants and help prevent the spread of disease into the broader community .
Methods : RNA extracts from clinical specimens positive for SARS- CoV-2 using FDA EUA assays were sequenced . Whole genome