APHL 2021 Poster Abstracts
BIOSAFETY
Biosafety
Tools for Assessing Biothreat Agent Presumptive Identification and Shipping Competence
S . Abrams 1 , R . Nickla 2 , E . Bowles 3 , M . Sullivan 4 ; 1 Association of Public Health Laboratories , Silver Spring , MD , 2 Oregon State Public Health Laboratory , Hillsboro , OR , 3 Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene , Madison , WI , 4 Minnesota Department of Health , St . Paul , MN
The core of the Laboratory Response Network ( LRN ) is comprised of thousands of sentinel laboratories . As these laboratories are mainly found in hospitals and other medical practices , they are likely the first to encounter a patient specimen containing a biothreat agent . Public health laboratories ( PHLs ) work with these partners throughout their jurisdictions to ensure sentinel laboratorians are able to safely rule-out or refer a potentially dangerous specimen to the PHL for further testing . APHL routinely works with national partners to develop and provide resources that aid in developing laboratorian competency to safely handle and test specimens for threat agents . Through the Sentinel Laboratory Partnerships and Outreach Subcommittee ( SLPOS ), ( APHL ) provides guidance and tools to assist PHLs with ensuring the readiness of these LRN partners to effectively respond to potential biological threats and to help enhance overall laboratory preparedness , biothreat organism detection , and training systems . One resource SLPOS developed in 2019 includes the Biothreat Organism Presumptive Identification Rule-Out Evaluation Tool to assist PHLs with evaluating biothreat organism presumptive identification rule-out procedures according to the American Society for Microbiology ( ASM ) LRN Sentinel Level Clinical Laboratory Protocols for Suspected Biological Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases . The tool helps PHLs evaluate sentinel laboratories submitting samples for ruleout testing , providing a comprehensive evaluation for biothreat organism identification procedures . SLPOS has also developed another tool , expected to be released in spring 2021 , to help PHLs evaluate the proper packaging and shipping of specimens submitted and received at their PHLs . This Packaging and Shipping Evaluation Tool is intended to be used by PHLs to assess whether rule-out specimens are correctly packaged and shipped by sentinel laboratories , and can also be used broadly to assess how well any Category A or B specimen is packaged and shipped to a PHL . The tool is designed to help PHLs and other reference laboratories to conduct focused outreach and trainings with labs in need of shipping assistance , and covers assessment elements for primary , secondary and outer containers as well as proper labeling and markings . This poster provides background on the importance of conducting outreach and training to sentinel laboratories and highlights how PHLs can utilize these two resources to identify training needs to improve laboratorian safety and conduct competency assessments .
Presenter : Samuel Abrams , Association of Public Health Laboratories , samuel . abrams @ aphl . org
Biorisk Management Quick Tips and Tools
M . Downing 1 , S . Escott 1 , M . Marsico 1 ; 1 ABSA International , Mundelein , IL , 2 Association of Public Health Laboratories , Silver Spring , MD
During the current pandemic , ABSA ( The American Biological Safety Association ) International and APHL continue to partner and provide outreach on biosafety and biosecurity topics . Since Biosafety professionals have been called upon during the pandemic to provide guidance on many different topics , this poster will point them to various helpful ABSA-provided tools and tips : educational offerings , the COVID-19 Toolbox , ABSA generated documents on vaccination , risk assessment , the ISO 35001:2019 Biorisk Standard , FAQs on pandemic topics ranging from shipping to decontaminating fabrics , and various recorded webinars available for free . ABSA is currently piloting a mentoring program called BioRisk Management Connect ( aka BRM Connect ) that may also be of interest to public health and clinical laboratory Biosafety Officers . The resources detailed in this poster will be useful to state / city BSOs as well as clinical laboratory managers and safety representatives .
Presenter : Shoolah Escott , ABSA International , mmdowning1 @ gmail . com
What Is the Return on Investment for an Effective Biosafety Program ?
M . Marsico 1 , M . Pentella 2 ; 1 Association of Public Health Laboratories , Silver Spring , 2 State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa , Coralville , IA
The risk of a laboratory acquired infection is real across all institutions . Recently the rise of Brucella exposures in clinical laboratories showcases a pressing need for best biosafety practices , yet many laboratories are faced with the hurdles of not having support towards a robust biosafety program . It is also difficult to measure an effective biosafety program when it is functioning properly , which in turn affects leadership buy-in . Laboratory leadership may not fully comprehend all of the work ensuring safer practices . APHL through the Biosafety and Biosecurity Committee has developed a tool to calculate the cost of staff time lost when a potential laboratory exposure occurs . This tool can assist biosafety professionals by calculating the monetary value in terms of both dollars spent , time invested and lives affected to prevent , control , and treat potential laboratory exposures or lab acquired infections . The poster will describe how to navigate each component of the tool and emphasize the importance of commutating towards an effective biosafety program for laboratory leadership buy-in .
Presenter : Michael Marsico , Association of Public Health Laboratories , michael . marsico @ aphl . org
34 |
LAB MATTERS Summer 2021 |
|
|
|