Lab Matters Winter 2018 | Page 17

public health preparedness and response

by Michael Marsico , MS , specialist , Biosafety and Biosecurity

top : The storm destroyed the waterproofing layer on PRPHR ’ s roof .

bottom : FEMA provided a generator for PRPHL to restore power in the laboratory .

assistance with acquiring reagents .

Upon completion of the four assessments , the APHL team worked with laboratory staff and CDC to develop plans to restore public health testing services . Although each laboratory had different needs , priorities included consistent access to power , functioning equipment , replacing lost reagents and guaranteeing safe working conditions for staff .

On the Road to Recovery

Four months after Hurricane Maria , the Puerto Rico Department of Health is working diligently to restore essential testing services as the island continues to recover from this devastating event . The four Puerto Rican laboratories , CDC and APHL will continue to collaborate to guarantee the resiliency of these essential public health resources . n

A new cadre of biosafety professionals are taking on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity performance gaps identified during the Ebola outbreak . With support from APHL , they aim to improve biosafety and biosecurity practices within their respective jurisdictions ( state , locality or territory ). Supplemental funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) underwrites this initiative which assists both public health and clinical laboratories .

Ed Kopp and Lylah Seaton launched their public health careers in the Virology Department at the Florida Bureau of Public Health Laboratories ( BPHL ) -Tampa . With this experience as a foundation , they pursued extensive training and study in how to build a biosafety program . Soon they were conducting biosafety risk assessments at Florida ’ s public health and sentinel clinical laboratories and developing biosafety resources with support from BPHL staff . These include biosafety risk assessment tools , a biosafety training and a resource website .

Kopp and Seaton have not hesitated to think outside the box in pursuit of their objectives . They ’ ve used Glo Germ and smoke machines for training in glove usage , handwashing and proper use of a biosafety cabinet , and posted cues to good biosafety practices around BPHL as entertaining reminders to staff .

In other activities in support of biosafety , Kopp and Seaton have :

• Trained BPHL staff to perform risk assessments of specimen handling and testing processes using the CDC biosafety competency guidelines to assess student knowledge

• Advised BPHL supervisors concerning the biosafety components of CLIAcompliant competency assessments

• Trained clinical laboratories in biosafety risk assessment and tactics to mitigate gaps in biosafety

• Organized practice in donning and doffing of PPE and incident response

• Published a laboratory biosafety newsletter distributed to the BPHL Jacksonville , Tampa and Miami laboratories

Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity ( ELC ) Biosafety funding and APHL resources and training have been instrumental in the development of these positions and resources . Through continued funding and APHL support , Kopp , Seaton and BPHL will continue to develop this safety culture to protect staff and deliver timely , quality lab results . n

top : Biosafety Outreach Officer Ed Kopp inspects a biosafety cabinet at the Florida Department of Health . Photo : FL BPHL

bottom : Biosafety Outreach Officer Lylah Seaton prepares for an inspection . Photo : FL BPHL