Strengthening laboratory biosafety in Liberia during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience from the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme

• Published in: One health 2022-12, Vol.15, p.100442-100442, Article 100442
• Main Authors: Malik, Shruti, Taweh, Fahn M., Freeman, Maxwell, Dogba, John B., Gwesa, Grace O., Tokpah, Melvin, Gbondin, Prince P., Kohar, T. Henry, Hena, John Y., MaCauley, Jane A., Pierson, Antoine, Rayfield, Mark A., Peruski, Leonard F., Albetkova, Adilya, Balish, Amanda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; Global laboratory leadership programme; Laboratory biosafety; One health; SARS-CoV-2; Workforce development
• ISSN: 2352-7714; 2352-7714
• DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2022.100442

The Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP) has biosafety and biosecurity as one of its core competencies and advocates for a One Health approach involving all relevant sectors across the human-animal-environment interface to empower national laboratory systems and strengthen health security. Decentralization of SARS-CoV-2 testing in Liberia coupled with an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections among laboratory professionals raised biosafety concerns. In response, a set of trainings on laboratory biosafety was launched for lab personnel across the country under the framework of the GLLP. The goal was to deliver a comprehensive package for laboratory biosafety in the context of SARS-CoV-2 through active learning. Three one-day workshops were conducted between September and October 2020, training personnel from human, animal and environmental laboratories through a One Health approach. Concepts critical to laboratory biosafety were delivered in an interactive engagement format to ensure effective learning and retention of concepts. Pre- and post-training assessments were performed, and a paired t-test was used to assess knowledge gain. Of the 67 participants, 64 were from the human health sector, one from veterinary sector and two from environmental health sector. The average pre-test score was 41%. The main gaps identified were failure to acknowledge surgical antisepsis as a form of hand hygiene and recognition of PPE as the best risk control measure. The average post-test score was 75.5%. The mean difference of pre-test and post-test scores was statistically significant (p-value