public health preparedness and response
Michael Pentella, PhD, D( ABMM) welcomes APHL Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Workshop participants to the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory, Jamaica Plain, MA
Building a Biosafety Community of Practice by Michael Marsico, MS, specialist, Biosafety and Biosecurity
In May 2015, APHL was awarded a $ 2.2 million cooperative agreement by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC) for Domestic Laboratory Biosafety for Ebola and other Highly Infectious Diseases. As a part of this agreement, and with guidance from its Biosafety and Biosecurity Committee( BBC), APHL is building a community of practice to enhance biosafety and biosecurity at public health laboratories. Comprised of APHL members, primarily local and state biosafety officers( BSOs) and biosafety outreach personnel, this community interacts regularly via an APHLmaintained listserv and connects via meetings and webinars.
Currently, over 130 US public health laboratory biosafety professionals strengthen their knowledge and skills as subscribers to the APHL biosafety listserv, and the number continues to grow each month. The listserv allows BSOs from all around the US and its territories to share information, experiences and suggestions with others in their field. Recent discussions have covered questions about disinfectants, spill kits, Ebola and Zika testing, laboratory procedures, laboratory equipment purchases, laboratory acquired infections, packaging and shipping courses, personnel protective equipment, risk assessment templates and sharing of biosafety trainings. To prevent this valuable information from being lost, APHL staff have developed a SharePoint site to archive these discussions.
In addition to the listserv and outreach, APHL convenes regional biosafety and biosecurity workshops covering all 50 state public health laboratories, the majority of the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands and some larger, local public health laboratories. These workshops equip BSOs with the fundamentals of biosafety and biosecurity, explain how to perform risk assessments and encourage engagement with peers.
Biosafety resources developed by APHL are free and available at www. aphl. org / biosafety. Look for additional resources and activities at this address as the year progresses. If you are interested in joining the APHL Biosafety listserv, please contact Michael Marsico, MS at michael. marsico @ aphl. org or biosafety @ aphl. org.
APHL Biosafety and Biosecurity staff serve as subject matter experts, providing technical / scientific guidance to state, local and territorial PHLs receiving ELC Ebola Supplemental funds to enhance PHL biosafety capacity and improve laboratory coordination and outreach.
APHL also disseminates biosafety information and resources at conferences. APHL’ s Public Health Preparedness and Response staff and members of the BBC routinely share information and tools developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC) Scientific and Program Services Branch, Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity( ELC) Program, to help strengthen biosafety and biosecurity domestically and globally. For example, in October 2016, APHL exhibited and presented at the American Biological Safety Association 59th Annual Biological Safety Conference in Grapevine, TX. APHL also presented on rebuilding biosafety programs at the African Society of Laboratory Medicine Biennial Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Guam
Northern Marlana Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
American Samoa
U. S. Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico
State, local and territorial PHLs that have received awards via the Ebola Supplemental project B-Enhanced Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity Capacity including the Continental United States, District of Columbia, Houston, Los Angeles County, New York City, and Philadelphia, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and U. S. Virgin Islands Public Health Laboratory. Local labs are represented by red dots
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Winter 2017 LAB MATTERS 11 |