Pre-conference Workshops

These workshops are run concurrently on Wednesday, April 2, the day prior to the Annual Conference. They are intended as training, and offer participants regulatory and/or scientific background, but also plenty of opportunity for practical learning through interaction with experts in the field and networking with colleagues.

Registration for the workshops is from 8.30 - 9.00 hrs. The workshops start at 9.00 hrs and end at ca. 17.00 hrs. There is a morning coffee/tea break of 15 minutes around 10.30 hrs, lunch from 12.30 - 13.30 hrs and an afternoon coffee/tea break of 15 min around 15.00 hrs.

A welcome reception will be held for all participants from 17.30 to 19.00 in the exhibition area at the Palazzo dei Congressi.

The organisers convey their sincere thanks for financial support to

There are 6 different workshops:

Fully booked

Instructors:
Asa Szekely-Björndal, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Sweden
Kathrin Summermatter, Institute für Viruskrankenheiten und Immunoprophylaxe, Switzerland
Stéphane Karlen, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

Short description:
The workshop will start by introducing the principles and methods underlying risk assessment for activities involving hazardous biological materials. This will be followed by an interactive session involving participants, and then by a more focused consideration of risk assessment involving work with different biological agents including genetically modified micro-organisms (GMM) and with a variety of biological materials where there is known, suspect or possible contamination with infectious agents. Special considerations when working with laboratory animals will also be covered. The second part of the programme will use a case study approach, where participants will work in smaller groups to develop and understand the process of risk assessment as it relates to biosafety. At the end of the workshop, participants will share their learning in a concluding plenary session.

Fully booked

Instructors:
Allan Bennett, Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom
Peter Hoffman, Laboratory of Healthcare Associated Infections, United Kingdom
Steve Copping, HSE Biological Agents Unit, Bootle, United Kingdom

Short description:
Disinfection using chemical agents is widely used in laboratories handling pathogenic agents. Recently, concerns over bioterrorism and nosocomial infection have increased interest in decontamination outside the microbiology laboratory. This workshop will introduce the concepts behind disinfection, decontamination, and sterilization, critically describe the commonly used liquid disinfectants and introduce disinfectant efficacy testing. The legislative framework in the EU for both liquid and gaseous disinfection will be discussed by a UK regulator. The available gaseous disinfection methods (formaldehyde, H ₂ O ₂ , Chlorine Dioxide) will be critically described and the practical issues of use of gaseous disinfectants in the laboratory environment and other areas including exposure control, validation, filter disinfection and efficacy testing will be discussed. Time will be allocated to allow questions from the audience to be discussed and hopefully answered. Attendance on this workshop should allow attendees to keep up to date with recent developments in this area.

Fully booked

Instructors:
Philippe Stroot, Xibios, Belgium
Goedele De Bruyne, European Commission Joint Research Center, Belgium

Short description:
This interactive workshop will present the principles of biorisk management, identify the multiple components of biosafety programmes and explore ways to integrate them into the management system(s) in place or to be developed in an institution. Some specific issues like the consideration of biosecurity aspects as part of biosafety management will be developed. The seminar will also provide an introduction to ISO and OHSAS management systems and will present the new biorisk management standard. It will be illustrated with a few exercises.

Instructors:
Evelien Kampert, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands
Toon De Kesel, Innogenetics, Belgium

Short description:
This workshop has been designed for biosafety professionals and facility managers who have at least a basic knowledge of biological safety regulations and some experience in running a BSL2 facility. This course will center on practical experience in the management of a BSL3 facility. It will cover subjects like responsibilities, information and training, personnel protection equipment, health surveillance, work practices, disinfection, waste management, cleaning and maintenance, facility maintenance, security and emergency procedures. Exchange of experiences between participants and instructors is an essential part of the course and will be encouraged through some exercises and case studies.

Fully booked

Instructors:
Peter Guldbrandsen, Switzerland
Helmut Bachmayer, Biosafety & Biosecurity Consultant, Austria

Short description:
This workshop is intended to provide a basic course on auditing management systems and monitoring safety performance in connection with activities involving biohazards. In addition to setting out the general framework for the audit process, and contrasting this with safety inspections, a number of scenarios will be presented to illustrate some of the difficulties which may be encountered, along with approaches to circumvent these. Points to consider when planning and conducting an audit will be presented together with useful hints based on the auditing experience of the tutors. Based on a case study, audit preparation and strategy as well as communication will be practiced in group work and role playing.

The workshop has been cancelled

Instructors:
Francesco Copello M.D., Health Director, San Martino’s Hospital, Italy
Franco Pugliese M.D., Safety Manager, Piacenza Hospital, General Secretary AIRESPSA, Italy
Giampietro Scaglione M.D., U.O. Servizio Prevenzione e Protezione, Italy
Dimitri Sossai, past president AIRESPSA - Safety Manager, San Martino’s Hospital, Italy
Cristina Vedovelli, Nurse, trainer in Biosafety, U.O. Servizio Prevenzione e Protezione, Italy

Short description:
When patients arrive at the Emergency Unit, undiagnosed diseases transmitted by aerosols are a significant threat to healthcare workers. Proper facilities with adequate ventilation, personal protection equipment and standard operating protocols are the first line of protection. Training and retraining the healthcare workers are the most important factors in establishing and maintaining effective prevention and protection from occupational-acquired infections. Both facilities and training of healthcare workers should be fully supported by management. Regular auditing is needed to ensure that all measures remain effective. The workshop is based on the training experience of 1500 healthcare workers at the Piacenza Hospital in Italy. Participants are invited to take part in role playing as the nurse, the medical doctor, the patient, the visitor or relatives. This workshop will present biosafety professionals with challenging hospital situations that need to address working methods that respect safety rules and protect both the healthcare worker and the patient with its relatives.