PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
APHL BSL-3 Seminar Series Promotes Learning
through Collaboration
by Michael Marsico, senior specialist, Biosafety and Biosecurity
Through the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s Epidemiology
and Laboratory Capacity Domestic Ebola
Supplemental for Enhanced Laboratory
Biosafety and Biosecurity Capacity
Cooperative Agreement, public health
laboratory staff have received numerous
hands-on and virtual trainings to enhance
their biosafety practices and procedures.
In April 2019, APHL was able to support
the registration and travel of 18 public
health laboratory staff and one APHL staff
member to attend the Eagleson Institute’s
week-long Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3)
seminar at the North Carolina State
Laboratory of Public Health in Raleigh. The
seminar covers all aspects of meeting and
“I highly recommend this class and
others that discuss HVAC systems in
a laboratory if you are responsible
or assist individuals involved in
maintaining or resolving issues
[within a] laboratory facility.”
Syreeta Steel, assistant laboratory director,
Public Health Services-Laboratory, County of
San Diego Health & Human Services Agency
For those involved in compliance,
expert discussions dispelled
misconceptions associated with
implementation of regulations,
standards and guidance documents.
Valuable advice was given on the
subject of scrutinizing contractors
who offer costly services not
required by regulations.
Vicente Zuno, biosafety officer, Bureau
of Laboratory Services, Houston Health
Department
24
LAB MATTERS Summer 2019
maintaining the safety requirements of a
BSL-3 laboratory.
The program was presented in three
sections: Design and Operation of BSL-3
Facilities, Advanced BSL-3 Practices and
Procedures, and a lecture and tour of Duke
University’s Regional Biocontainment
Laboratory and Lemur Center. Participants
learned from eight biosafety experts
who varied their approach using case
studies, lectures, demonstrations, facility
tours, group exercises and a hands-on
workshop. The instructors also provided
structured opportunities to network and
share challenges and solutions with
instructors and fellow students.
Attendees strengthened their grasp of
CDC and APHL’s Biosafety Laboratory
Competency Guidelines, expanded
their knowledge of the Biosafety
in Microbiological and Biomedical
Laboratories (BMBL) 5 th edition guidelines
on airflow reversals during HVAC failures
and approaches to meeting those
guidelines, and learned about creative
training methods to apply at their facility.
At the end of the week, attendees praised
the in-depth lectures, instructors’
expertise and value of the discussions
of biosafety scenarios. They returned
home to their facilities intent upon
implementing the recommendations of
their trainers and fellow attendees. n
I feel more confident when I work
with our facility support because
I have a better understanding of
how to achieve optimum BSL-
3 conditions from this course. I
also received [many] valuable
recommendations from the trainers
and other attendees on a few facility
problems that [are] not in any
publications.
Sheena Chu, safety officer, Los Angeles
County Public Health Laboratory
One important take-away was
that BSL-3 [laboratories] are not
contaminated sites—they are
containment. …This is important
to understand when doing risk
assessments and developing SOP’s.
Eagleson Institute’s Paul Jennette demonstrates proper
personal protective equipment and necessary steps during
a laboratory spill
Rhodel Bradshaw, specialist, Food Safety,
APHL
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org