Being Watchful of Biosafety Challenges for diagnostic and research labs in india

Biosafety is defined by WHO as a ‘strategic and integrated approach to analyse and manage relevant risk to human, animal, plant life and health and associated risk to the environment’. In other words, the biosafety process is to eliminate biological or chemical contamination affecting humans, animals, plants, and the environment. Biosafety is those processes that ensure such operations are conducted in a safe, secure, and reliable manner. The biological surety programme is generally concerned with biological agents having a high risk for adverse medical consequences upon release outside of proper containment. Biosecurity is the process employed for ensuring biological agents are properly safeguarded against theft, loss, diversion, unauthorized access, or use/release.

Abiosafety laboratory is an essential reTuirement for any experimental research programme on any potential pathogenic organisms or infectious ailments. A lot of research activities are focussed on the study of microbial pathogens, which poses a potential risk to related research fellows in R&D labs. In addition, there is the risk that dangerous microbes under study might escape from the laboratory and pose a risk to public health. )or example, in the past, a highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has escaped out of containment.

Pathogens have been categorised based on the degree of risk they carry, both to laboratory crew and to the general public too. The assessment depends not only on the virulence of the microorganism but also on whether an effective vaccine exists and/or effective antimicrobial/antiviral therapy is available. Where an effective vaccine exists, laboratory workers should be immunized, and precautions should be taken to physically contain the microbes under study.

The risk is classified in four levels. Level one assumes no risk and level four is for the most virulent pathogens for which no effective immunization or antimicrobial therapy exists.

Biosafety challenges should be handled with utmost care with no compromise. It is not the responsibility of the technical team daily working inside the laboratory alone, but it starts from the laboratory construction and commissioning, thus involving all departments involved in any laboratory construction, operation, maintenance, etc. Only with the support of all departments, Biosafety protocols can be implemented in a pathogen handling laboratory successfully, without giving an opportunity to biosafety challenges such as a pathogen outbreak. Biosafety challenges not only include pathogen outbreaks but also include challenges that arise due to handling and disposal of hazardous chemicals which will sometimes affect the environment too.