Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, 16 July 2024. Nineteen (19) participants from nine laboratories across the Federation successfully completed the Shipping of Infectious Substances and Laboratory Biosafety Practices training, facilitated by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) who are International Air Transport Association (IATA) certified. The five-day workshop, held from 8–12 July at the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce Building, resulted in the training of laboratory technologists, administrators, sample transportation professionals, and medical technologists.
Dr Hazel Laws, Chief Medical Officer, St. Kitts and Nevis reiterated the importance of the training during her remarks at the closing ceremony. “This training session was timely. We are monitoring a number of high-risk pathogens: measles, dengue, and the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, just to name a few. If we are impacted by any of these in an outbreak, we are going to be depending on you, trainees.”
The training aimed to equip participants with knowledge and practical skills on how to safely prepare and ship infectious materials in accordance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations (WHO IHR).
The agenda -both practical and theoretical - covered packaging and labelling, materials management and chemical safety, biosafety audits and monitoring, and handling and emergency response. Coursework included simulation exercises and group presentations.
Since 2016, CARPHA has been working with Member States (CMS) on improving national capacities for biosafety and biosecurity, which are key components for national and regional health security. To date, 350 personnel from CMS have been trained in how to safely prepare and ship infectious substances, a crucial activity for effective surveillance and response.
Trained and certified shippers within the public health systems allow us to safely and quickly respond to public health challenges, such as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and natural disasters at the national and regional levels. CARPHA continues to conduct training workshops in Member States in the coming months.
The Training series is supported through the project “Strengthening Health Systems in CARICOM to Address Infectious Diseases”, which is funded by the Republic of Korea through the Republic of Korea-CARICOM Cooperation Fund. The project supports regional and national level workshops in the Shipping of Infectious Substances, as well as the enhancement of other biosafety and biosecurity measures in CARPHA Member States.
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