Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR)

2006 Report of Activities

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Office of Laboratory Security (OLS)

Biosafety and biosecurity challenges

Today's unpredictable and often volatile public health security environment presents considerable biosafety and biosecurity challenges for the Public Health Agency of Canada. A significant number of these challenges – including the safe transportation of infectious substances, enforcement of human pathogen importation regulations, and the development of emergency bioterrorism response capabilities – are managed by the CEPR's Office of Laboratory Security (OLS), the Agency's centre of expertise and national regulatory authority on biosafety and biocontainment.

Laboratory review, inspection and certification

The OLS is also responsible for the review, inspection, certification and re-certification of laboratory containment facilities and for laboratory biosafety training across Canada with the goal of ensuring the public health safety and security of Canadians. In addition, the Office is tasked with overseeing Canada's contribution to global biosafety, and spends a good deal of time each year establishing and maintaining international contacts for the promotion and exchange of vital biosafety information.

Global health security leadership

In 2006 the OLS played a global public health security leadership role on behalf of the Agency by acting as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Biosafety. As an international collaborating centre, the OLS provides biosafety and biocontainment information and advice to national health authorities around the globe. The OLS also serves as the Secretariat for the International Biosafety Working Group and contributes advice and expertise to the WHO's Global Polio Eradication Initiative and to pandemic influenza biosafety programs.

Global Health Security Initiative

By taking an active part in strengthening the international public health infrastructure and enhancing global health security, the Public Health Agency is helping to protect Canadians against current and emerging global public health threats. The OLS contributed to the Agency's health protection efforts in 2006 by participating in the Global Health Security Initiative, an international partnership established to address the threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism, as well as pandemic influenza. The OLS also made a significant contribution to the Global Health Security Action Group (GHSAG) laboratory network by developing concepts for an environmental sampling framework for sampling after a bioterrorist event.

Canadian implementation of the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention

In 2006, the OLS assisted Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada with the Canadian implementation of the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention. The OLS was a member of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations, where substantial progress was made in improving international participation in the Convention's annual confidence-building measures report.

Enhancing laboratory response

Over the past year, the OLS continued to improve its laboratory response operations in both its first response laboratory and its mobile response units, whose technically advanced yet rugged equipment allows for rapid diagnoses in difficult field conditions. The Office also developed enhanced field-usable techniques for the identification of potential bacterial bioterrorism agents.

Office of Laboratory Security (OLS)

DID YOU KNOW?

Regulation of human pathogens

During 2006 the OLS successfully prepared for the first international meeting of regulators of the Contained Use of Human Pathogens, which was held in Ottawa in early 2007. The seminal meeting saw the participation of representatives from the U.S. (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention), Switzerland, Britain, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, as well as the World Health Organization. This international meeting is expected to be held in the future on a regular basis.

Responding to biosafety stakeholder needs

Whether located in universities, hospitals, government departments or industrial settings, Canadian laboratories may deal with agents or organisms that, if not handled properly, could present hazards to people, animals or plants. This is why biosafety stakeholders from academia, business and government look to the Office of Laboratory Security for authoritative information, advice and practical training in areas such as: biosafety and biocontainment; the transportation of infectious substances; importation and research on human pathogens; and emergency response measures to human pathogen spills. Biosafety stakeholders also count on timely and accurate data on emerging diseases from the OLS's highly regarded and heavily consulted Material Safety Data Sheets and other user-friendly products and tools, such as biosafety advisories and guidelines.

Transportation safety

In 2006, the OLS continued to manage the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Program (including training, advice, guidance and inspection), which assists Transport Canada in its efforts to ensure compliance with Canada's Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations. National hands-on training for health portfolio staff included instruction in infectious, hazardous chemical and radioactive substances. The OLS also developed and offered train-the-trainer courses on Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations for health portfolio employees.

DID YOU KNOW?

Looking ahead

The Office of Laboratory Security has identified the following priorities for 2007:

• continued assistance and guidance to Canadian containment facilities regulated by the Human Pathogens Importation Regulations;
• collaboration with the World Health Organization on the development of an international containment inspection process for vaccine production facilities; and
• the establishment of a Canadian Biosafety Training Partnership to ensure Canadian laboratory facilities receive the training and biosafety resources they require to work safely.

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