Laboratory biosecurity guidance - World Health Organization

Biorisk management • Laboratory biosecurity guidance • September 2006
reduction (minimization) procedures have been established, should encourage
employees to invest the time and effort required to account for and safeguard the VBM
they control. Compliance should be reinforced throughout a facility by the regular use
of means to encourage accountability and responsibility (training, scientific meetings,
performance reviews, appraisals, codes of conduct/practice, etc.). The requirement to
establish a clear biorisk management programme places the responsibility on facility
managers to demonstrate that risks are controlled. Only this approach, as opposed to a
strict compliance approach, is likely to ensure the commitment and support of
managers in the long term, as facility managers should ultimately be held responsible
for breaches in biosafety and laboratory biosecurity.
Laboratory biosecurity activities should be established with clear and consistent
policies and guidance. These activities should be integrated into the overall policies and
administrative procedures of the facility. Managers are responsible for ensuring that
biosecurity plans and incident response plans are enforced and revised as needed. Reevaluation
is a necessary and ongoing process since it is unlikely that the range of
VBM and threats at any given institution will remain static. Biosecurity programme
managers should also conduct biosecurity programme audits (assessments), provide
remedial strategies for identified vulnerabilities and gaps, and ensure that the facility’s
threat and risk assessment is regularly reviewed and updated. Training and
familiarization concerning the objectives and requirements of laboratory biosecurity
activities should be ongoing.
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