Skip to main content

Biosafety

A laboratory biosafety program (LBP) is essential to ensure the health and safety of laboratory staff and the general public from hazardous materials and infectious agents. In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets federal standards governing LBPs that enforce best practices by non-regulatory organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) [1]. In addition, twenty-five states and two territories established OSHA-approved biosafety standards that meet or exceed federal standards [2]. The CDC/NIH's Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories [BMBL] are the primary guidelines for LBPs, and many jurisdictions use the manual in a regulatory manner [3]. Ensuring laboratory biosafety requires vigilance; laboratories must maintain equipment and materials, develop and implement security measures, and staff must be annually trained in biosafety procedures. Our evaluation of LBPs underscored the importance of the human element in biosafety compliance.

Objective

To understand the potential gaps in laboratory biosafety due to human factors.

Submitted by knowledge_repo… on

BioSense is a national human health surveillance system for disease detection, monitoring, and situation awareness through near realtime access to existing electronic healthcare encounter information, including information from hospital emergency departments (EDs). MCM include antibiotics, antivirals, antidotes, antitoxins, vaccinations, nuclide-binding agents, and other medications. Although some MCM have been extensively evaluated and have FDA approval, many do not (1). Current FDA and CDC systems that monitor drug and vaccine safety have limited ability to monitor MCM safety, and in particular to conduct rapid assessments during an emergency.

Objective

To conduct an initial examination of the potential use of BioSense data to monitor and rapidly assess the safety of medical countermeasures (MCM) used for prevention or treatment of adverse health effects of biological, chemical, and radiation exposures during a public health emergency.

Submitted by uysz on

The Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) has been being implemented in the Republic of Uzbekistan since 2004 within the framework of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the United States of America Concerning Cooperation in the Area of the Promotion of Defense Relations and the Prevention of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of 06.05.2001. Threat agent detection and response activities that target a list of especially dangerous pathogens are being carried out under the BTRP within the health care system of Uzbekistan. This presentation reviews some of the achievements of the program to date.

Objective:

To review the implementation of the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency in the Republic of Uzbekistan since 2004.

 

Submitted by Magou on
Subscribe to Biosafety