Bio-risk management training enhances capacity of laboratory practitioners in Uganda
Prevention and control of infectious and transboundary diseases requires a range of health system capacities, including human and infrastructural laboratory capacity for surveillance, diagnostics and management of pathogens. For countries such as Uganda, which are endemic for numerous infectious and zoonotic diseases and yet have limited resources such as electricity, human and physical capacity, biosafety and biosecurity are crucial in the management of infectious diseases, especially at laboratory level. It is upon this background that FAO, with support from USAID, funded project, “Supporting the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to address zoonotic diseases and animal health in Africa (OSRO/GLO/507/USA)”, conducted a week long training for laboratory staff from national and sub-national levels, in Biosafety and Biosecurity using the One Health approach. The training aimed at enhancing participants’ knowledge and skills in bio risk management and facilitating behavioral change and attitude towards security and risk reduction measures in the laboratory.
The training, held from 26 May to 1 June 2019 in Masaka district, central Uganda had 20 participants, including: laboratory technologists from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda Peoples Defense Forces and private laboratories.
Laboratory bio-risk (bio-safety and biosecurity) management is a key tenet of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) aimed at achieving a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats, particularly from emerging and re-emerging infectious agents. Bio-safety refers to the mechanisms or steps taken to protect health workers, communities and the environment from unintentional release or contamination with biological / infectious agents (bio-risks), whereas bio-security aims at protecting the organisms from intentional or malicious usage. However, according to the Bio Risk Management Audit carried out in 2017 by Uganda’s Central Public Health Laboratories, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity measures in Uganda, are not presently sufficient to address critical needs for biosafety and biosecurity towards control and management of disease pathogens. The Audit assessed 210 laboratories countrywide, with many found to be below par and at high biosafety and biosecurity risk.
Through the training therefore, laboratory staff were able to enhance their knowledge of the basic principles of Biosafety and Biosecurity in transportation of infectious substances, occupational and preventive health in laboratories as well as honing their skills assessing bio risks in laboratory health care settings and safety procedures in the laboratory. Others topics at the training focused on: bio-risk mitigation; bio-risk performance; bioethics, management of laboratory waste, chemical management, disinfection and sterilization, packaging and shipment of infectious substance and development of action plans.
The training used a revised curriculum that incorporated the One Health approach that focuses on management of pathogens that cause diseases harmful to both animals and humans, such as Ebola, Marburg and Rift Valley Fever. Consequently, laboratory practitioners in public health and veterinary practice benefitted from superior knowledge and skills to empower them to manage zoonoses. Participants were also introduced to the Bio Risk Assessment Tool, which they can use for laboratory audits aimed at improving safety in laboratory.
Sam Okuthe, FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), team leader on behalf of the FAO representative in Uganda, Antonio Querido, urged participants to actively practice the skills from the training and use the knowledge received in order to promote secure and safe laboratory services for effective and efficient disease management.
Dr. Lawrence Mayenga, the District Production Officer (DPO) of Masaka commended FAO and USAID for championing animal and public health disease prevention and management in Uganda, especially through laboratory capacity building that has been brought to the grassroots level.