ASIA-PASIFIC BIOSAFETY ASSOCIATION (A-PBA)

BIOSAFETY MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Temasek-Life Science Building

29 Sept – 3 Oct 2014

Day-2

Topics to be covered

1. Animal Biosafety by Assoc. Prof. Stuart D. Blacksell MPH PhD RBP

2. Emergency & Disaster Response by Mr. David Lam

3. Practical Exercise on PPE

4. Practical Exercise on Spill Clean Up

Animal Biosafety• The main objectives to learn about animal biosafety:

1. Identify hazards and risks associated with using working with animals

2. Appropriate facilities and procedures (SOPs) to minimize hazards when working with animals

Why is it important?• Lab animals pose special biohazards not seen in a typical

lab facility because:• animals don’t follow protocol and procedures• diseases are inherited from animals• therefore, animal husbandry and housing are needed

Biosafety = controlling a hazard

Hazards Working with Lab Animals

Potential risks:

1. Risks of Personnel (ourselves and community)

2. Risks of Experiment (invalidation of the experiment)

3. Risks of Lab Breeding Stocks

4. Risks of Domestic, wild or agricultural animals

5. Risks of Wasting Resources (money)

Types of Personnel HazardsPhysical hazards Chemical hazards Biological hazards

- Injury from bites, scratches or knocks (fell)

Must use suitable restraints & wearing appropriate PPE

Must know animal behaviour and response to environment to help reduce injury

- Burns and skin irritation from chemicals, steam or disinfectants

Eg. exposure to formaldehyde or bleach (usage concentration should be 10%)

- Animal infections Must be aware of the

naturally-occurring infection in the animals we’re working with

Must use appropriate sentinels, quarantine to minimize exposure

Eg. of natural pathogens of lab animals: mice/rats (common soil bacteria), cats/dogs (toxoplasma), non-human primates (TB, measles), etc

- Injury from sharps (needle sticks)

Must always place used needles directly into sharps container without recapping, bending, breaking

Other personnel hazards• Allergies :

• To the animals’ hair, urine, bedding etc• Due to predisposed allergies such as asthma• Could lead to mild skin rashes to severe asthma• Prone job tasks include : cage washing, bedding changing, etc• Could be minimized by :

1) Standardized facility design and equipment

2) Reduce exposure/education

3) Appropriate usage of PPE such as mask

Reducing Transmission of Natural Infection

Using suggested quarantine periods: Rodents : 0 – few days Wild animals, imported rodents : 0 – 60 days NHP (non-human primates) : 90 days During quarantine, prophylactic measures may be given to avoid

future problems : Vaccination Prophylactic antibiotic administration Diagnostic testing for known natural infections

Most common experimental infections of lab animals : infection & pathogenicity studies. Others include : toxicity studies, tumour studies, vaccine trials, viral vectors and serum productions.

Modes of Transmission/Route of Infections

• Skin punctures : bites, scratches, etc• Accidental ingestion : Salmonella, E. coli• Inhalation : hantavirus-infected feces/urine• Ocular (usually through rubbing eyes) : rabies• Formites (secondary) : bedding, cages, laundry, etc

How to minimize infections/hazards from animal contact1. Use appropriate PPE

2. Respect and understand animal behaviour

3. Wash hands thoroughly after work

4. Confine operations that generate aerosols in BSCs or other ventilated enclosures

5. Get the necessary vaccination where available

Animal Housing Facilities• Physical separation from other laboratory areas

• Can be primary containments• Seamless floors and walls with water-proof and water-resistant

coatings• Doors open into rooms• Footbaths at thresholds of infected animals’ rooms recommended• Directional airflow• 10-15 air changes per hour, using 100% makeup air• Exhaust air must be HEPA-filtered or treated if airborne

contamination is possible

• Access control and reduce number of people coming into contact with the animals

Animal Housing Facilities Cont’d• Rooms for infected and “clean” animals• Where possible, separate by species and disease agent• Adequate signage :

• hazard warns• PPE requirements depending on animal biosafety levels (ABSL)• safety instructions pertaining to bites, punctures, etc• labels of specific species, infectious agents, and PIs

Animal Facilities Biosafety LevelsRisk Group

Containment Level

Lab Practice Safety Equipment

Waste Management

1 ABSL – 1 Limited access Protective clothing & gloves

Exterior disinfection

2 ABSL – 2 ABSL – 1, plus hazard sign, BSCs I/II

Protective clothing (gloves, masks, goggles, gown)

ABSL – 1 plus autoclave

3 ABSL – 3 ABSL – 2, plus controlled access, BSCs for all activities, back up power supply

Protective clothing for all activities (boots, shoe covers, scrubs, etc)

ABSL – 2 plus regulated biomedical waste (incineration)

4 ABSL – 4 ABSL – 3, plus strictly limited access, BSCs III, work in pairs

Clothing change prior to entering, shower on exit

ABSL – 3

Termination of Experiment• Animals killed humanely• Carcass bagged and disposed by incineration (prior

storage : -20 freezer)• Disinfection of caging, animal room & necrospy suite

Lab animal waste include: • soiled animal bedding• carcases• sharps• other biological matters

Emergency & Disaster Response• Objectives :

1. To know the common emergencies in laboratories

2. To familiarize with emergency response plan

3. To prepare and plan for these emergencies

• Causative factors :

1. Human behaviour : tiredness, rushing

2. Mechanical : BSCs

3. Elements (or nature) : earthquake, flood, etc

Biological Spills• SOP on spills includes :

1. Type of spills

2. Immediate action taken

3. SOP on spill response

4. Spill team (who they are and how to contact them)

5. Spill kit and location

6. Post-exposure medical program

7. Reporting structure

General SOP for Biological Spills Response

1. Identify injured persons

2. Alert others

3. Don PPE (if required)

4. Contain the area of spillage (zoning)

5. Cover the spill with absorbent materials

6. Decontaminate (eg. using disinfectants)

7. Allow adequate contact time

8. Wipe and clean the affected area

9. Follow up cleaning with towel

10. Treat the contaminated towels, absorbents, etc

SOP for Major Biological Spills Response

1. Alert others

2. Evacuate and secure the area

3. Put up a warning sign

4. Wait for sufficient time for it to settle

5. Send in the spill response team

6. Monitor and final assessment

7. Medical evaluation

Other emergency responses/prevention

Types Response/Prevention

Medical - Have a buddy system- Know basic first aid, PCR and AED

Fire(elements : temp, oxygen & fuel)

- Prevention is key! - Know the 3 elements of fire- Keep fuel and ignition source apart- Know the fire fighting, equipment and location

Flood - Know the protocol if lab is located in prone area

Earthquake - Know the protocol if lab is located in a prone area

Lightning - Have reliable lightning conductor

Runaway animals - Prevent animals from running- Appropriate restraining

Pressure - Routine maintenance & know when it happens

Water infiltration - Be aware of bulk water storage above our lab

Route of Entry for Biological Spills

1. Inhalation (aerosol)

2. Ingestion (foods)

3. Injection (needle stick injury)

4. Absorption (contact with broken skin)

From here, must select the appropriate PPE

Practical Exercise on PPE

Practical Exercise on Spill Clean Up